Evisceration
by Rhearenee
Summary: Modern AU. Something is after Lucy and it's messing with her mind. She's not crazy. Why won't anyone believe her? Her friends are turning against her. Thank Mavis Natsu believes her.
1. Drowning in Fear

_Hi, guys! This is going to be my first time trying to write something for Fairy Tail. I've honestly wanted to do it for a while now, but it's been hard for me to get out of the habit writing for the Powerpuff Girls._

 _Anyway, this is a story that I wrote back in 2012. I recently found it again sitting in my folder and I decided to fix it up. I had completely forgotten that this exists and when reading it I was intrigued. It was my first try at writing horror. The writing was horrible and I had to cringe at my sloppy writing four years back, but the premise was pretty good for me to try my hand at it again.  
_

 _This fic is rated M for a reason. Be prepared for lots of gore, mindfucks and some romance for the topping. Lucy is 23 and Natsu is 24. Wendy is 19, a bit older than she should be compared to Lucy's age. This is a modern AU. The only thing that's the same as the manga is the geography.  
_

 _Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima._

* * *

 _Black. It was pitch black all around Lucy. She couldn't even see past her nose. The chilling cold wasn't helping either. The cold bit down to the bone, she could hardly feel her fingers. All she knew was that she was lost and alone, the feeling settling deep in her stomach._

 _She tried reaching around with her hands for some kind of leverage, but found nothing. A trickle of panic and helplessness struck her, her breathing quickening. She was afraid to move from her spot. This couldn't be happening to her. This couldn't be real. Her mind immediately feared the worst. She was stronger than this – above kidnapping. She didn't take all those self-defence classes for nothing.  
_

 _No, no, no!_

 _Lucy bit back a sob. How much more pathetic could she get? With trembling hands she tried reaching around her again with no results again. She wanted to move forward, but her legs felt heavy with lead._ _Where was she? Why can't she move? Fearing that she might be drugged, Lucy rubbed her freezing hands together. She blew her breath on her ice cold fingers, but it did no good. Her breath felt as cold as the air around her.  
_

 _A_ _loud scream erupted from her right, startling Lucy and almost making her trip. It had been so close to her, almost in her ear. Her head was ringing from the noise. She clutched her head with her arms and fell to her knees. She felt warm trails of tears fall down her face._ _What's happening to her? She was shivering uncontrollably, the sudden feeling of doom gnawing at her insides. She couldn't control it.  
_

 _T_ _he ground felt oddly sticky, like she was sitting in honey. She could feel it soaking her skirt._ _Fearing the worst she gently let go of her head and dipped her left hand in the liquid that was surrounding her._ _It was cold and thick in substance._ _She lifted her shaking hand up._

 _R_ _ed. Everything was red._

 _Screaming Lucy jolted up from the ground. Blood. There were pools of blood on the ground._ _Lucy hyperventilate_ _d_ _and frantically look_ _ed_ _around her. It was all around her. The room had lost it's blackness and now the bitter, metallic tang of blood was everywhere. She could even taste it in her mouth._

 _S_ _he wanted to run. Run away from this horrible nightmare, but her legs still felt like lead. She couldn't move – she was paralysed._ _Her sobs increased in intensity, wracking her whole body. She was gulping for air, trying to lose the taste in her mouth. Her throat felt dry like sandpaper.  
_

 _S_ _he's stuck here and she's going to die. She doesn't deserve this. She has never hurt anyone. Why her?_ _  
_

 _A_ _cold hand touched her left shoulder..._

Flailing and screaming Lucy shot up in her bed, her breathing out of control. Her whole body felt hot and was covered with a thin layer of sweat. The image of blood was replaced with the dim lighted scene of her room.

A nightmare. It was just a nightmare.

She clutched at her nightgown, where her rapidly beating heart was, running her other hand through her tousled hair. She had been so sure that she was going to die. A small tear escaped her eye against her will.

"Lucy?"

Lucy yelped and jumped at the sudden voice, the feeling of that cold hand popping back into her mind.

She heard sheets rustle behind her and someone touch her shoulder gently. "Are you alright? You were screaming." She recognized the voice, the familiar timbre soothing her. The tears were falling now. Choking on a sob she turned to meet him in a hug, her tears wetting his t-shirt. He hugged her tightly, letting her cry to her hearts content, not questioning her sudden outburst. She was so relieved that he was here, that she wasn't alone like she was in her dream and that there was no smell of blood, just the nice sooty smell of Natsu.

He didn't say anything to her just calmly rubbed her back, rocking both of them gently. Thank Mavis it was just a horrible, horrible dream.

"Natsu?" she whispered, her voice scratchy. She clamped the fabric of his t-shirt in her hand, listening to his much steadier heart beat. He hummed, indicating that he was listening. "I-I had a nightmare." The sobs still wracked her body. "It was horrible...th-there was blood everywhere..." Tears started to spill from her eyes again. She couldn't control them, her emotions too unstable for her to get a grip on anything. She felt pathetic that a measly nightmare had shook her so hard.

"Shhh, don't speak. It's going to be alright. Whatever it was it wasn't real." He gently rubbed her shoulders and gave her his signature smile, assuring her that it was going to be alright. He hugged her again, wrapping his hands around her shoulders, bringing her close. Lucy let herself calm down in his warm embrace, listening to his steady heartbeat. They stayed like that for a while until Natsu spoke up again, letting her go for a moment. "I'm going to go and make us some breakfast, okay?"

Lucy nodded, her eyesight blurry, but feeling much more calmer than before. He hugged her again before getting out of their bed and throwing on some pants. He threw another smile to her for good measure and walked out.

Lucy knew that he was right, but she couldn't shake the fear. The images were still on her mind. She felt like she had just experienced a near death situation.

Hugging herself, she tried to erase the scenes from her mind by looking out the window. She had been so startled by her nightmare that she hadn't noticed that it was morning outside already. She could hear the busy streets of Magnolia rustle. The morning sun shined brightly. The blonde smiled weakly. It was just an another regular day in Magnolia. Nothing unusual, nothing scary, just normal. That's what she needed right now.

Lucy opened a drawer in her night stand and pulled out a pack of tissues. Cleaning her face and blowing out her nose, she tried to concentrate on happy memories to push out her bad nightmare. It always helped her to forget bad dreams.

She remembered her school days, where she first met all of her friends that she has now. She remembered the day when she first met Natsu and how he managed to get both of them in trouble in an hour. Lucy laughed, the memory bringing up more comical situations. She'll never forget the day when Natsu first asked her out and how he managed to make a fool of himself in the process.

She has had so many comedic accidents, arguments with her friends these past years. She couldn't wish for more.

Blowing her nose again she swung her legs out of bed, her nightmare successfully pushed to the back of her mind. Throwing the napkin on the night stand for now, she grabbed the clothes she left on the sofa for herself last night and strutted her way to the bathroom.

Last night she went to bed alone, she remembered that Natsu had had the long shift at work. She feared for him almost every time he and the team got an emergency call. Being a firefighter was a dangerous job, but she could see it on his face that he loved doing it. Still it didn't stop her from worrying. All over she was glad that he had made it home safe and she didn't have to wake up alone after a nightmare like that. She still got chills remembering it.

Shaking her head Lucy took off her sleeping shirt. She really needed a good shower after all this.

"Feeling better?"

Lucy yelped, covering her chest on an impulse. Natsu was standing in the bathroom door frame a smile on his face. She grabbed a nearby towel and threw it at him. "Don't scare me!"

Laughing he caught the pink towel and set it aside. "There's nothing I haven't seen already, Luce."

Huffing Lucy pouted and blushed, turning her back to him. He was right, but it still didn't give him the rights to scare her like that. She was still on edge, her senses on high alert. Still she forgot to close the damn bathroom door, too lost in thought.

"C'mon, Luce, don't pout. I was just joking around to lighten up the mood." He walked up to her and hugged her from behind, softly kissing her shoulder. She could see in the mirror, that was in front of them, his pink messy hair that really needed to make an appointment with a hairbrush and the slight worry on his face. It turned into a smile once his eyes fell downwards. "You look good like this."

Lucy flushed, realizing that she had unconsciously let her hands drop and that Natsu had a full view of her naked breasts in the mirror reflection. "Out!" She disentangled herself from his embrace and pushed him out of the bathroom, closing the door after him.

All the while Natsu was chuckling, allowing her to push him out. "Breakfast is almost ready. Come when you are done with your shower." He called to her from behind the closed door.

Lucy listened to his retreating footsteps and lightly laughed to herself, shaking her head. Catching her messy reflection in the mirror Lucy frowned. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair was a rat's nest. Maybe she should make that hairbrush appointment as well. Her grim thoughts once again settled back in her mind. She would have probably fallen in a state of paranoia if Natsu hadn't been around. The death of her father Jude last year struck her hard. He was her last relative alive. Natsu supported her all through her grieving period, she had nightmares really often then, and even managed to cheer her up just like he did now and so did her friends. She was so lucky to have them. They all were like a family to her now.

Running a hand through her messy hair, deciding to brush it after her shower, Lucy was about to pull down her panties when the light in the bathroom disappeared. She was left standing there in the dim darkness, only source of light the small strip that was coming in from under the door. She freaked out at first, but then rational sense set in. The light bulb just probably expired. Nothing to freak about. She'll just open her door and take the shower in whatever light came through it. She'll change the bulb after that.

She made her way to the door, but jerked back when she noticed a pair of sharp claws coming her way. Shrieking and ducking out of the way Lucy felt the fear that had plagued her in her nightmare come back in uncontrollable waves. She wanted to run out of the door, but her feet had melted into the ground, pinning her in her spot. What was going on? Her breathing went out of control and all she could hear was the pounding of her heart in her head. Perspiration settled on her skin. She tried pulling out her feet, but to no avail she couldn't do anything. She was scared out of her mind.

From the corner of her eye she noticed a figure looming behind the shower curtains. Shaking, she turned her head to face the shower. She held her breath. She could see something there and it was grinning at her, sharp, crooked teeth illuminating through the curtain. She fell back, her back hitting the towel rack, a silent scream escaping her lips. The creature moved, two smoky, blood red eyes opening.

Lucy looked away, her hands trembling uncontrollably on the towel rack. Once more she tried to pull her feet free from the ground, nearly spraining her ankle in her hectic movements. If she could just get free and run to the door, she would be out of this place. Unfortunately, the floor was unrelenting and wasn't budging. She wanted to scream, scream for Natsu, for someone to come and get her out of here. She couldn't. Her voice wasn't working. All she could get out were choked sobs. Why is this happening to her? How is this even possible?

Something laughed in a deep and throaty manner, bringing her attention back to the monster behind her shower curtains. She could see how the monsters eyes were leaking red. She could see all of it, like the curtain wasn't even there. Whatever was leaking out it's eyes it was overfilling the shower. Fast. She didn't like the look of that.

A sour and metallic smell hit her nostrils. Jolting in her spot, she tried once again pulling her feet from the ground. That smell brought back bad memories of her nightmare. It was too much like her nightmare and she couldn't take it. She had to get out of here. She can't stay here. She'll do whatever it takes to get out. Her legs didn't move from their spot and unless she was able to rip them off she won't be going anywhere. Not bothering to hold back once she realized that she has no way of escape a river of tears ran down her face. She was stuck. She couldn't move, just like in her nightmare.

The blood had overflowed and now was pooling around her feet. Lucy gagged from the smell and the familiar feeling of the thick substance. She could hardly breathe through her chocking sobs. The air was suffocating.

Mad laughs echoed through the small room, ringing like bells in her head. Her heart did a jolt when the same red substance started to flow out of the sink and toilet.

No, no! She was going to die! Drown in blood. Why can't she move? Please, please just let her move!

Her thought process froze when she felt something brush against her leg. She didn't want to look down. She's not going to look down. Nope, not if she has a say in it. But she did anyway and regretted it instantly.

A shrill scream ran past her lips. It was a hand, a severed human hand. Frantically throwing her head around, she noticed that it wasn't the only thing that was swimming in the blood. Various limbs and other organs were floating around, all of them in various stages of mutilation. This was worse than her nightmare. This was worse than anything she had ever experienced. Lucy hated gore, she hated it, it made her feel sick. Now she was swimming in it. She could feel the bile rise in her throat.

Lucy closed her eyes, wishing for all of it to go away, wishing that she had been sleeping all along and this was just an another bad, really graphic nightmare. This couldn't be real. There's no way it could be. If it was, from where did it all come from?

Something fell on her head. She could feel it drenching her hair and sliding down her face. Biting back her sobs and screams, she hesitantly opened her eyes. An eyeball with all of its muscles still intact fell from her face.

Chocking on a scream Lucy fell on her knees, not having the strength to stand on her feet anymore despite the support of the towel rack. Her hands dipped up to the elbow in blood and gore. Lucy was about to give up and let death take her when a sharp pang of pain erupted in her chest. Gasping and gripping the spot, she fell on the ground. It had felt like someone had hit her with a tennis ball, and the pain didn't stop. It grew and grew until it felt like someone was ripping her open. She screamed in pure agony.

"Stop!" Finding her voice, she choked out, rolling on her back.

"Lucy!" The bathroom door was kicked open and light fell into the dark room. Natsu was at her side immediately, cradling her body close to his. "I heard you screaming. What's wrong?"

Opening her eyes she met the worried and scared ones of Natsu. Her eyesight was blurry from all the tears, but it was him. Natsu was here. Lifting up a shaky hand she ran her palm down his cheek. It's really him.

"Lucy?"

The blonde cast a weary look around the bathroom. Gone. All of the gore was gone, like it hadn't even been there in the first place. If she hadn't been so tired she would have sighed in ecstasy. She felt more at ease now, the crippling fear that had messed with her emotions was gone, like it wasn't even there. Turning her attention back to her worried boyfriend, she choked out a few words: "Take me out of here."

Hooking an arm under her knees Natsu picked her up and carried her to their bed, covering her half-naked body with their sheets once he put her down. He sat on the edge of the bed, watching her, trying to understand the situation. "Lucy, what happened?"

The blonde lay there one the bed like that for a few moments, unmoving, still in shock, processing all that had happened in the bathroom. She felt tired, she felt like she had died and come back. She had no idea what to answer to Natsu, having no clue as to what had happened there herself. "I don't know."

Natsu was scared out of his mind, Lucy could see it on his face and from his fidgety movements. She felt for him. She felt the same. She just hated that she couldn't say anything that would put both of them at ease.

Lifting her in a sitting position Natsu hugged her, burying his nose in her hair. "Please don't scare me like that ever again," he whispered.

Not knowing what to say to comfort him Lucy hugged him back, wrapping her hands around him as tight as she could. She had no explanation for what had happened in the bathroom. It felt real, it looked real, but as soon as Natsu came in to rescue her it was like it had never been there in the first place. Was she hallucinating? Could hallucinations even cause so much pain? Why was she experiencing them in the first place? She had so many questions, but no answers. It was unsettling.

Natsu let go of her, pulling a strand of her hair out of her face. She could see the love in his eyes, the fear and it made her swell up with relief and gratitude that once again he was here for her.

"How are you feeling?"

Lucy placed her head back on his shoulder, enjoying the warmth he gave off. "Tired." He still smelled like a fire, like he had walked through a burning fireplace, he smelled like home and it calmed her, made her forget the horrible smell of blood.

"Do you still want breakfast? I made toast and bacon."

Lucy nodded, letting him go. "Yes, please."

He sent a small smile her way before getting off the bed and start searching for something in the drawers. He pulled out a simple black tee and handed it to her. "Here. It's mine. I don't know where you put your shirts." He sheepishly ruffled his messy bed hair.

Lucy accepted it laughing gently, the familiarity of his forgetfulness easing her mood. "Thank you, Natsu." She slipped it on, not caring anymore if Natsu saw her naked or not. It was silly of her to hide when he, like he reminded her before, had seen everything already.

He sat back down on the bed, the smile gone from his face. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Honestly, she wasn't. She still felt shaken up from the whole experience. Most of her thoughts were in scrambles and images of what she had seen popped up every now and then. It all had happened so fast. But she didn't want to worry him anymore than she already had and she honestly didn't want to think about it anymore either and what it might imply. "Yes. I'm fine."

For a moment it looked like he hadn't believed her for her hands were still slightly trembling, but he ignored it for her sake. "Alright. Do you think you'll be able to go to work? Maybe you should stay home," he hesitantly suggested the last part.

Lucy almost screamed no, but held herself back. There's no way she wants to stay here alone. If Natsu didn't have another shift at work this afternoon she would have stayed here with him, but after whatever it was she experienced there's no way she wants to be alone. Let alone near the bathroom. She doubted if she'll even have the courage to step back in there ever again. "I can't stay. I have to go to work. I still haven't finished this months summary of income and expense."

Natsu sighed, he knew that he wouldn't be able to get her to stay home for her own safety. "Okay, Lucy, but I'm still taking you to Wendy for a check up. Whatever it was you had in the bathroom isn't normal," he said in a firm tone, that meant that she can't argue with this decision.

Lucy nodded, understanding his point. It was a miracle that he hasn't hauled her ass all the way to Wendy's already. She must have really scared him for him to act so out of character. Even if he did she would refuse. Wendy still is a student in medical school, she's really good at what she does though, but it would be rude of them to intrude on her when she has to get ready for her lectures.

Natsu shook her out of her glum mood by suddenly giving her a soft peck on the lips. "C'mon, Luce before the food gets cold." He yanked her out of bed, a grin on his face.

Lucy barely found her balance from the sudden action. Still she smiled back and let him drag her to the kitchen. He always managed to lift her spirits no matter the situation.

* * *

After breakfast Lucy wanted to walk to work, but somewhere along the way the weather had changed for the worst and now it was raining wet snow outside. The late November weather was unpleasant and chilling. Lucy would have driven there, but since she still felt shaky Natsu insisted to drive her to work.

Not having no other option she agreed. She loved Natsu, but he wasn't the best driver around, she had to admit that. He tried to keep up appearances, but she knew that moving transport made him motion sick, thus affecting his driving. Thankfully he wasn't as bad as certain someone else with motion sickness - she's not going to accept a ride from Gajeel ever again. When she asked he never revealed how he got his driver's licence. Still she didn't look a gift horse in the mouth, she got to work and that's all that mattered.

Waving goodbye to Natsu, Lucy walked through the front entrance of the large building. She worked as an accountant for one of her friends, Laxus, family business. Erza and couple of her other friends worked there as well, which made her awfully boring job that much more interesting. Office shenanigans were a common thing.

Accounting had never been her first choice of profession. She always had wanted to be a writer, but her father had pushed her to learn economics. She came from a rich family and Jude had wanted for her to continue the family business. Needless to say it wasn't the ideal profession Lucy would have chosen. She loved her father, but after her mothers untimely demise her father had changed, pushing her against her will. After his death she inherited all of the Heartfilia fortune. She had never been one to sit on her ass and do nothing, so as soon as she finished university she searched for a job. Laxus had been generous enough to provide her with one. Though she was kind of sad that she didn't have the qualification for her dream job.

Sighing Lucy got into the lift and pushed the button for ninth floor. The doors closed and being in the small space suddenly made her feel claustrophobic. The mornings events came back to her, hitting her like a ton of bricks. Biting her lip Lucy closed her eyes and imagined that she was back at home, sitting on the couch, Natsu somewhere near her.

The ride up felt like an eternity for her. As soon as the door opened Lucy ran out of the lift and down the empty hallway. The sooner she gets to her shared office the better. She was sure that Evergreen's complaining about trivial things would make her feel normal again. Her co-worker never failed to amuse her with her ridiculous rambling.

On her run to the office she noticed Erza exit one of the rooms, her spirits lifting up immediately at seeing one of her best friends.

"Erza!" She called out in hopes to catch her attention. She froze in place when a second person, dressed in a suit exited the room brandishing a knife. Her breath caught in her throat when the unknown person snook up on Erza and stabbed her in the back.

"Stop!" Falling out of her stupor, she ran to Erza, balling her fists, ready to take on the assaulter. She has had a bad morning already and she's not about to stand around and watch it get worse.

The man let Erza's body fall motionless on the floor. Seething Lucy ran forward. The man in the suit turned around, facing her head on. Lucy faltered in her step.

Red. His eyes were red. The same colour the monster behind the curtains had.

Taking a shaky step back Lucy watched the monster smirk at her with the same sharp teeth and enter one of the rooms in the hallway with a wisp of smoke following him.

Clenching her teeth and biting down her fear Lucy ran to Erza. This was no time for her to act scared. Her friend's life was in danger and it would do her no good to lose her head. She fell on her knees besides Erza's motionless body. She hesitated a bit, seeing the blood seep into Erza's clothes and pool under her. Steeling her resolve Lucy turned Erza's face up.

"No, no! This can't be happening?" Lucy sobbed quietly. Dead. Erza looked dead. Her eyes were wide open and all glassy and she wasn't breathing. She put two fingers on Erza's pulse. She was still warm, but there was no pulse.

Grabbing Erza's hand, Lucy rummaged through her purse for her phone. She needs to call an ambulance, maybe they can still save her. Her limited knowledge of medicine won't help Erza. When she found her phone she struggled with keeping it straight. Her hand was shaking too much. Letting out a sob of frustration she almost threw the phone against the wall. This isn't the time for her to break down. _Get a grip, Lucy!_

"Lucy? What are you doing?"

Hearing her name called Lucy looked up and was met with the familiar face of Freed. He looked like he had just arrived in the office just like her, his usually well kept green hair windblown and his coat wet from the snow.

Anger spiked up in her. "Are you kidding me? Call help, Erza's dying." Her shouts echoed around the hallway, starting the green haired man.

Putting his hands up in defence he took a step back. "Whoa! Calm down, Lucy. Erza's alright. I just saw her walk to her office." Freed eyed her suspiciously with worry in his eyes.

Confusion settled in her. She looked back at Erza and gasped. "B-but how?" There was no one there. No blood, no Erza. What's going on? How? Dumbstruck, Lucy stared at the spot where Erza had been laying moments before, bleeding. She turned her hand palm up. She was even holding her hand and now it was gone. Lucy couldn't wrap her head around this. The mystery man flashed before her eyes. That must be it. She was hallucinating again, only this time it had been much, much worse.

Then she realized that if there's no one there she probably must look like she's crazy, sobbing to herself on the floor. But she couldn't really muster up the will to care. Something was wrong and it was slowly eating away her sanity.

Freed crouched beside her, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Lucy, are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." He was probably right. She'd hate to see herself in the mirror right now. And whatever she saw wasn't a ghost either. She honestly wasn't sure what it was and it was freaking her out.

"I don't know."

Freed helped her get off the floor, handing her her purse back. He kept sending worried glances her way, which Lucy ignored. "Lucy, maybe you should go see a doctor?"

Lucy rubbed her eyes, blinking a few times. She shook her head. "No. I need to go see Erza."

She thanked Freed for his help and ran for the stairs. Erza's office was a floor higher and there was no way she's taking the lift again. She had to see it for herself. She had to see if Erza is alright. This was the only instance where she wished to all that's holy that she was just delusional and Erza was okay. She's not going to take her chances with how her day had been going.

* * *

 _I honestly have no idea how well I did with this this time. Part of me feels like I'm going to flop like an old fence another part thinks that I did well._

 _Tell me what you guys think so far. What do you expect for Lucy to face in the future and so on? Will she be able to keep her sanity?  
_

 _Thanks for reading._


	2. Lady in The Walls

_Thanks so much for your responses, guys, even if it was just simple story favorites and alerts. I didn't expect to get so many so fast. I'm happy to hear that so far people are interested in my story._

 _Without further ado let's continue Lucy's day from hell._

* * *

"Lucy, are you feeling alright?"

The said woman sighed. She's heard this question in various layouts, like, ten times already today and it was starting to get to her (she might be exaggerating a bit, but it was starting to feel like it was ten times). She's was glad that her friends worry about her, but after a while it got tiring. She wasn't alright, she was dead beat tired and she felt like crap. She didn't even know what was going on around her. She's tired of this hellish day and it's making her cranky.

When she first stormed into Erza's office like a madwoman Erza had nearly taken her head off, for scaring her like that, she says. Lucy had scoffed at that, she knew better, but had hugged the other woman nonetheless. It was a known fact around the office that you simply do not run into Erza Scarlet's office like a headless chicken unless you want to get mauled, especially if you were Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki. In Lucy's defence, she was on edge and worried about Erza's safety.

Thankfully for Lucy, Erza was alright and in one piece, her mind at rest from that little scare she had back in the hallway. For the moment at least. Seeing Erza made her feel better, the red head's confidence rubbing off on her.

Now when that little episode was over Erza had taken notice of her dishevelled and, as she had said, ghostly appearance and mother hen Erza had reared her head. She knew that once she's here she won't be getting out of her office until she spills her guts. So she did just that. "I feel like crap and I have a pounding headache."

Erza put down her pen a pensive expression on her face. "If you aren't feeling well, Lucy, you can go home. Evergreen can cover for you."

Shaking her head Lucy smiled weakly, suddenly finding the pattern on her jeans more interesting. She's too scared to go home alone now, especially if she'll be home alone till evening. Just by thinking about it brought back the helpless feeling she had when she was attacked in the bathroom. "I can't, Erza. I just can't."

Erza sighed, leaning back in her big office chair, crossing her arms. She sent a disapproving yet worried gaze her way. Lucy mentally prepared herself for the scolding, absently picking at her scarf's fringe. "I can see that you're on edge. What's going on? What's got you so scared?"

Surprised at this line of questioning Lucy pulled her gaze away from her lap to look at Erza. She could tell her, but there's a chance that she won't believe her and put it all on her having a fever or worse – call her crazy. Honestly, she wanted to tell her everything that had been happening to her, but something compelled her not to. The fear of being called a nut job took control.

Mentally preparing herself, Lucy licked her chapped lips with her tongue, wringing her hands in her purse. "I'm not sure." Lucy didn't want to lie to Erza, so she chose to tell her a half truth, even though she didn't want to tell her that much. Lifting her head back up, she took in Erza's response.

She was sceptical, her eyes roaming Lucy's form from top to bottom. Erza put her pen down and shifted a few documents on her large table. "Alright."

That was surprising. Hiding her reaction from Erza Lucy cast her gaze towards the wall, that had various paintings on it, finding a painting of a river more interesting. She knew that she was acting odd, but she couldn't help it. Suddenly she was as much scared of Erza as she was of that monster. What would Erza do if she found out about what really was happening to her? Everyone knew that the red head could act quite drastic if pushed in the right direction. She didn't want to end up in a nut house or worse. She knew she wasn't insane, but proving it to others would be impossible.

"But I'm still calling Levy and telling her to take you home." Her tone was final, not allowing any arguments from Lucy about her decision. Yeah, she figured that she'll do that. She didn't like the idea of going back home, but she knew that now Erza won't let her stay, seeing her distraught form. There wasn't anything she could say to change her mind either.

Not bothering to protest Lucy listened to Erza search for her phone on her messy table. While she searched through her mess Lucy let her eyes roam across Erza's neat office. She took notice of the coat hanger near the wooden door on her right and the dark coat that was hanged there, presumably Erza's own. She also had a large document shelf and a table with various clutter on it. Across from her was the wall with paintings of all kinds of landscapes. She always had adored Erza's office and the window she had behind her and apart from her desk it always looked so clean and pristine.

She briefly listened to the conversation Erza had with Levy before she tuned her out again and continued her admiration of Erza's paintings. Her mind was hazy, feeling like she hadn't slept for a day. She smiled when she noticed that Erza had replaced one of the paintings with something different. Lucy didn't take Erza to be a fan of portraits. It was a painting of an aristocratic lady dressed in a red puffy dress and a huge hat.

Such an odd choice of a portrait.

Rubbing her tired eyes she kept marveling at the painting. She blinked and rubbed her eyes again. Did the position of that lady just change or was she just that tired from her hellish day? Shaking her head to gain some clarity she looked back at the portrait and gasped. Now the lady was looking at her, a soulless look on her white face. She couldn't look away, it was like she was drawn to look at it. She didn't want to, but yet she was afraid to look away in case it moved again.

"Okay, Lucy, I'm going to call Lisanna now, Levy's too busy at the library, she can't make it." Lucy dully noted what Erza had said, not prying her eyes off off the painting.

She sat there like that for a minute, having a staring contest with a picture, Erza's voice in the background. When Erza swivelled in her chair to look out of the window, Lucy briefly cut her staring contest to look at her.

Erza was anxious, she was drumming her fingers on the armrest of her chair, waiting for Lisanna to pick up. She didn't even wait for Lucy's confirmation on her choice to have someone else pick her up. She was that worried.

Lucy was too baffled to really say anything, her thoughts muddled. She knew Erza was right to worry about her, she was messed up and it was showing badly. The blonde cast her gaze back at the painting. Her breath caught in her throat. She shouldn't have looked away.

The lady was smirking and waving her sharply manicured hand at her.

Biting her lip, Lucy struggled with keeping her emotions under control, her pulse in her throat. She's going to stay calm, keep her cool. She gripped the straps of her purse in a death lock, her fingers turning white. She couldn't. Her emotions were a whirlwind. It was controlling her, she could feel it now.

When the red lady ceased her waving and was starting to scratch at the picture frame, trying to wiggle out, Lucy looked towards Erza, panic in her face. She pressed herself deeper in the sofa. "Erza?" she called out, her voice a bit scratchy. She wasn't alone in this room, not like in the hallway. Maybe if Erza looks that way it'll disappear or she'll notice it and Lucy could finally tell her what's going on.

Erza turned in her chair to face her, phone still to her ear. "Yes?" She didn't even glance to the picture. How could she not hear it or see it? The scratching was so loud. The unawareness on Erza unnerved Lucy even further. She was seeing things again, wasn't she? To make sure Lucy pointed at the picture, where the lady by now was snarling and baring her teeth, halfway out of the picture. Swallowing hard Lucy turned her attention away from the monster. She couldn't look at it anymore. She already had a lifetime of nightmarish images stored in her mind, she had no will to add another one to the collection.

"Is there something wrong with my paintings?" Erza gave all of the paintings a quick once over then turned back to Lucy, putting her phone down. "Lucy?" Worry laced her tone.

Erza couldn't see it. It all was just in her mind once again. Rooted on the spot Lucy didn't know what to do. The lady is probably already out of the picture if her vicious snarls are anything to go by. She felt her hands tremble. She really didn't want to do it, but she looked back at the lady anyway.

Nothing.

Nothing was there. No lady, no portrait. It was quiet again. Flabbergasted yet relieved Lucy exhaled. Feeling the tension leave her. Her mind was just playing tricks on her. Still it didn't make her feel any better. She just had another episode. This was bad.

"Lucy?" Erza's questioning tone brought her back from her slight shock. She noticed that the red head was tense, ready to be at her side any moment. She hated worrying her friends so much. Mavis, if she knew what was wrong with her she would fix it and cease this twisted acid trip, it was messing with her normal life and mind way too much.

"I'm okay. I think I'm going to go home now." She really didn't want that, but she didn't feel like staying here either. She didn't want to experience an another similar episode to the hallway one or one like this. Seeing disgusting gore and monsters was one thing, but seeing your friends die right before your eyes was an another. She just can't handle this anymore. She just wants to sleep a dreamless sleep where nothing can get to her.

Erza picked up her phone again, unlocking it. "I'm going to try calling Juvia. I think she had a free day today. She'll come and pick you up."

"No, no. You don't have to do that. I'll just call Natsu." Getting up from the sofa, Lucy rummaged through her purse for her phone. She didn't want to bother anyone else with her problems. It was bad enough that she scared Erza with her actions. Hopefully, Natsu was still home and could come and pick her up. Coming to work, in the end, was a really, really bad idea. She should've listened to Natsu. If she had know that this would follow her to work she would have gladly stayed at home, at least then she couldn't make a fool of herself in front of people.

She could feel Erza scrutinizing her. She heard the clack of her heels approaching her. Lucy tensed, not knowing what to expect. The red head hugged her, surprising her instead. "Okay, just be safe." Once Erza let her go she smiled her usual, confident, signature smile. It didn't exactly feel genuine, but she knew that Erza probably understood and didn't push her.

Weakly smiling back Lucy exited Erza's office, closing the door with a light click, the smile turning into a frown. Part of her was surprised that Erza let her go so easily despite everything, but then again it could be because she's going to call Juvia anyway and ask her to check up on her. Lucy knew Erza well enough - even if she herself can't do anything she'll find a way.

Slowly making her way down the hallway and waving to any familiar passerby the blonde felt guilt eat at her. The realization striking her. She had lied to Erza. It hadn't been her intention, but she had done it anyway. How Erza missed that was the real question. The red head could read her like an open book. She was actually a bit surprised at that herself.

Add that to the list of weird things that have happened to her today.

Raising her phone Lucy searched for Natsu's contact and called him, putting her phone to her ear. She was dead beat tired. By this point she didn't care what the monster would do next. Obviously all of it was just illusions and no one got hurt from them, except for her, but even that was fake. She'll be scarred for life, she knew that, but right now she couldn't muster up the will to worry about it. The day had barely started, but she was already tired from it.

The exhaustion pulled at her making her drag her feet on the floor. Impatiently she listened to the phone ring. She was just so wasted, drained. Though the time it took Natsu to answer his damn phone did worry her. When he finally did Lucy felt a weight lift off off her.

"Thank Mavis, Natsu. Could you pick me up from work? You were right I should have stayed at home."

There was a lot of background noise on the other end, still Natsu's boisterous voice cut through all of that. " _What happened, Lucy? Did you have an another panic attack?"_ He sounded apprehensive, the loud voices in the background cutting off and a sound of a door closing coming through the line.

Crap! She never did tell Natsu what exactly happened in the bathroom. After they went to eat breakfast she did anything in her power to forget about it and focus on her work day. Natsu didn't question her either, sensing her reluctance to talk about the subject and it just slipped her mind after that. She really should have told him.

Lucy made her way downstairs, the clack of her heeled boots echoing in the large stairway. "I'll explain once we're home. So, can you pick me up?" From the background noises it sounded like he was at work already, she definitely heard Sting yell profanities at someone.

There was a slight pause at the other end, like he was contemplating whether he should ask her more about her problem, but thankfully he ignored it. " _Sure. I'll_ -" Rest of his words got cut off by a loud ringing noise from his end. Lucy had to move her phone away from her ear unless she wanted to go deaf.

"Natsu?" She put her phone back, but the ringing was still there.

" _Sorry, Lucy. We just-...call. I'll send-...you up. -know him."_ Lucy could only pick up bits and pieces from what he was saying, the damn bell too loud. She understood what it meant. They just got an emergency call, there must be a fire somewhere. From what she got from him she guessed that someone else is going to pick her up and that she knows him. Shuddering she hoped that it wouldn't be Gajeel. He nearly sent her to an early grave with his driving once and she didn't want a repeat of that. How Levy manages to sit through those drives straight faced she'll never know.

"Okay. Love you."

She didn't hear the rest of what he responded to her before the call cut off. Biting her lip Lucy put her phone back in her purse. She tried not to be disappointed that Natsu wasn't going to pick her up. She really missed his presence right now. She'll just have to suck it up instead. Nothing could surprise her now. She wasn't going to let the monster get an upper hand.

Making the rest of the way downstairs Lucy walked through the lobby before stepping outside. The chilling wind blew her loose hair in her face, slapping her. She pulled her scarf over her nose and her coat tighter. A shiver ran down her spine from the sudden change of temperature. She hated this nasty November weather.

The traffic wasn't too heavy, but enough that she figured that it might take whoever is coming for her some while to get to her. Lucy stuffed her hands in her coat pockets, absently staring at the traffic and the sidewalk across. It was lunch time and people were bustling on the streets. She froze for a moment when one of the passerbys across from her looked her way. Her heart loudly thrummed in her chest. Was it the monster again? The man grinned a toothy grin and waved, confusing her. It was then when she noticed that there was a woman behind her waving back to the man.

Exhaling Lucy looked the other way. She was getting paranoid. She couldn't even look at people without fearing the worst. She was too messed up.

After a few minutes of more waiting and avoiding any eye contact from anyone she regretted coming outside so early. She stood near the curb, the sharp wind from passing by cars chilling her further. She was starting to loose the feeling in her toes, and she was wearing her thick winter boots. Crud. Why was it so freaking cold and wet? It was never a good combination.

Deciding to head back into the building before she freezes her feet off Lucy turned around, though she faltered in her step when she heard a car honk, scaring her for a moment. Swiveling on her heel she noticed a dark car waiting by the curb. That must be her ride. She didn't recognize the car as Gajeel's, so she could breathe easy for now. She could only guess that it was Rogue Natsu had called to pick her up, he had a peculiar taste for black sedans.

Opening the door, she practically jumped in the car when she felt the warm air hit her face. She stopped when she noticed the driver. "Gray?"

"Get in. It's cold outside." She didn't need to be told twice.

Lucy sunk in her seat, putting on her seat-belt, revelling in the warmth that was coming from the heaters. Once comfortable she cast a glance towards the dark haired man, who didn't even look her way, concentrating only on the road. She hadn't seen him in a year. Last time she heard from Natsu Gray was somewhere all the way across Fiore, doing who knows what. He wouldn't even tell Natsu, only saying something like "I'm on a job" or "I can't tell you". None of them had managed to corner him into spilling his secret either.

With a little smile she also deduced that he hadn't changed at all. Dark hair in it's usual messy style of spikes, little or no clothing and a pensive look on his face. Even though he had practically cut himself off from everyone she was glad to see that the time alone hadn't messed with him.

Still she was curious to know what he was doing back in Magnolia. He always told them when he was coming back. Though Natsu must have already known if he sent him her way. She was going to question him about that later. "What are you doing here? We didn't know you were coming back."

He briefly glanced at her before turning his attention back to the road. "Visiting." One word. And that's it. Okay maybe he has changed. He used to be less cryptic.

Pouting Lucy poked him in his side making him flinch and send a disbelieving look her way. "C'mon, tell me. It's not like you to just pop back. Did you at least tell Juvia?" That girl had been sending herself crazy by waiting for him to finally come back and stay. Though Lucy had a suspicion that that won't be happening so soon, especially if Gray's current mood is anything to go by.

He was tense, clutching the steering wheel way too hard than it was necessary, his movements on the road jerky. "I haven't had time."

Shaking her head Lucy lightly slapped him on his shoulder, putting on a mock glare. "You should make some. You know how worried she is about you." She glared at him for real when she got no response. Cold bastard. "Don't ignore me, Gray. You know how much she loves you and you just can't leave her hanging like that after you said you'd give her an answer."

Last year, when Gray had visited them and left, no soon after Juvia had told her that Gray had promised to give her an answer to her feelings as soon as he got back from whatever he was doing. The bluenette had been excited for weeks. Rustling around her bakery like a madwoman, baking treats for everyone. Months passed and Lucy still could see the hope in Juvia's eyes. Only recently she had started to get doubts, thus worry herself crazy. Lucy knew that Juvia was a strong woman, a bit over dramatic, but dedicated and motivated enough that she had believed that one day Juvia would get her happy ending.

Now, when she's looking at Gray and his utter nonchalance, she wants to punch him in the face. At first she couldn't see it, nostalgia clouding her, but now she could see the change in him. He was more bleak, more restless, even the look in his eye had changed. Did he even care for Juvia anymore?

"I'm sorry, Lucy, but I really don't have the time for that right now. I'm only here for a short while. I need to pick up some things."

Feeling anger rise in her at his flippant response Lucy wanted to give him a piece of her mind. "You k-" She didn't get far with her rant. Bright lights blinded her and a sudden lurch sent her forward, her seat-belt keeping her in place. Breathless Lucy felt the smell of gasoline and rain invade her nostrils. A case of vertigo hit her, her ears buzzing.

Lucy opened her eyes, her eyesight blurry and her head pounding. What happened? The blur clearing a wreck of metal and glass met her eyes. Confused she rubbed her head, groaning when the pounding in her head only increased. The stench was unbearable and for some reason she had trouble breathing. Her hands felt sticky.

Something wasn't right here. Wasn't she about to talk Gray's ear off?

Lifting her other hand up Lucy choked on a gasp. She had blood on her hand. She looked down and froze in shock. A piece of metal scrap was pierced through her chest, pinning her to the seat, blood soaking in her coat. Upon noticing this the pain made itself known. Tears sprung in her eyes and she coughed blood, her lungs filling with it. Her breath stammered. Wheezing she tore her gaze off the horror that was her chest, the pain coursing through her like hot knives.

The realization struck her, she was going to die. No one can survive from an injury like this. And this didn't seem like a hallucination either, though she hoped it was. They had gotten into a car crash if the condition of the car was any indication. Plain and simple. Those things happened in real life. It was a miracle that she was still alive though.

Her eyes going wide Lucy remembered that she wasn't alone in the car. She turned her attention towards Gray. If she wasn't wheezing and coughing blood every five seconds she would have sighed. Gray was alright for the most part. It just looked like he had hit his head, a trickle of blood running down his nose.

"G-gray?" She coughed, more blood running down her chin. She wanted to reach out to him, but her limbs wouldn't respond. Frustration ebbed at her, but she tried again. No response. This was just peachy. A great way to end her super awesome day. The tears were now falling down her face. She was never going to see her friends again, she was never going to see Natsu. And Gray wasn't responding to her either. Why did it have to end like this?

Still something didn't feel right to her.

"Lucy?" Gray groaned, lifting his head up from the headrest. Lucy watched quietly, relieved that he was okay as Gray rubbed his head as well. He angled his head towards her. Lucy choked on her breath, violent coughs wrecking her body.

He was missing half of his face, like a good chunk of it. His whole left side was covered in blood and chunks of something she didn't want to identify. How was he even alive?

Lucy turned away from the horrible sight, not caring anymore. This can't be possible. By all means both of them should be dead, injuries too severe. She must be hallucinating again. That must be it. It's the only logical explanation. It's just another sick visage brought upon her by that horrible monster. This couldn't be real. It just couldn't.

Then why did she feel like her life is fading? The blackness of death just a step away, her consciousness holding on by a thread.

Gritting her teeth, Lucy grabbed the sharp metal that was lodged in her with her hands, it split her skin open like a sharpened knife. She isn't going to lay down and take this. It hurt like hell, but she knew that this wasn't real. If she just could make it stop. She'll do anything to get out of this.

The blackness wouldn't back away no matter how hard she injured herself on the metal.

She won't give in. She won't. Giving up and dying isn't her style.

Chanting in her head that all of this was fake and that she was fine Lucy tried pulling the metal out of her chest, the edges cutting her fingers to the bone. Black spots danced across her vision, her strength leaving her. A strong wave of nausea hit her. Everything was spinning, she was suffocating on her own blood. Her hands limply fell from the metal scrap, drops of blood falling off her fingertips.

The blackness won.

* * *

With a sharp inhale Lucy practically jumped up from her laying position, her heart going a million miles a minute. She clutched at the spot, between her breasts where she had been impaled, expecting to find a hole or something worse.

Nothing was there.

She lifted her shirt to check, just in case. She was fine, apart from her trembling and panting. It was like it had never been there. Her hands were fine too. A bloody miracle. It could only mean that she won. She finally got the upper hand on that thing. At least she hoped she did.

Flabbergasted she examined the room she was in. A window, with light blue, drawn curtains and a dresser with a mirror on it and other clutter on her left. Another dresser in front of her, with a closed door and a couch and a door on her left. All of this felt really familiar to her, like she had been here before. Looking beside her, she noticed a nightstand with a lamp and a picture on it. The picture was of her and Natsu.

She was in her bedroom. This was her and Natsu's bedroom, which means that she's back in her flat. How did she get here? She has no memory of getting here. The last thing she remembers is the car ride and the hallucination that knocked her out. Did Gray carry her here? Dear Mavis was he even alright? She, for a moment, thought that she had died back there and Gray along with her.

Laying back in her pillow Lucy stared at the ceiling, expression unreadable.

Maybe...maybe all of it was just a bad dream and she's only waking up now. Maybe she never woke up this morning at all, it being a dream. Now that she thinks about it that would explain a lot. There's no such things as monsters, some of the things that had happened were simply impossible. That must be it – she was dreaming, a horrible overly vivid dream, but dreaming. That set her mind at ease.

The sound of the door clicking open brought her out of her thoughts. "Lucy!? You're awake!" She didn't even get to see who had entered before she got enveloped in a pair of arms, the sudden action kicking the breath out of her. "I was scared that you would never wake up." Only now she managed to place the frantic, loud voice to Natsu.

She relaxed and hugged him back, tucking her head over his shoulder, letting herself drink in the warmth he gave off, the familiarity of his frame. Though she couldn't deny that she wasn't confused at this whole situation. Natsu had been frantic, she could feel by how hard he was pressing her to his chest that he had been worried about something. Unease picked at her, a trickle of fear settling deep in her stomach. "Natsu? What's going on?"

He let her go, his green, worried eyes meeting her brown, puzzled ones. He kept his hands on her shoulders as if to make sure that she wouldn't disappear from his grasp. "You've been out for two days, Lucy. After you called me to pick you up I told Rogue to take you home. Fifteen minutes later I got a message from him saying that you hadn't been there. I tried calling you and you wouldn't pick up." Lucy's eyes widened at this little snippet of information, the ball of dread increasing in size. "After we were done with the fire I drove straight home only to find you passed out on the bed. What happened, Luce?"

She blinked rapidly, her mouth moving like a fish's. It all actually happened. It wasn't a dream. Here she was getting comfortable with it all being fake – a figment of her imagination. Dazed she stared at her hands. She was shivering again. She put her hands in her lap, licking her lips she looked back at Natsu, his gaze unwavering. She has to tell him about this. He needs to know. She can't hide this, she can't handle it alone. "I...I was ..in a car crash...with Gray."

"What?" he exclaimed, grabbing at her arms and practically shaking her.

She didn't hear rest of Natsu's frantic questioning, his voice turning into background noise. Something else caught her eye. It was a lady dressed in a red Victorian dress. She was standing on the threshold of their bedroom, eyes missing from their sockets, her ghostly skin colour contrasting with the holes. It was like proof that all of it had been real, that she still was in the grasp of the monster. It was taunting her.

" _We're coming for you."_ A ghastly voice, echoed through the room, sending shivers down her spine.

Lucy couldn't take it anymore. Her thoughts spun out of control, vertigo taking over her. The blackness welcomed her back.

* * *

 _I'm actually surprised with how quickly I was able to get the second chapter out, I'm usually such a slow writer. Still this chapter caused me some problems. I couldn't really decide which way I wanted to go with the Erza scene, so I ended up re-writing that. I'm also trying to show in this chapter that Lucy won't turn into a ball of angst because of all the crap that's been happening to her (I hate super angsty stories) - that she's still affected by, but she's fighting back and trying to keep a sense of normalcy in her life.  
_

 _Now I'm wondering, if you guys have any ideas what or who might be after Lucy? The what part might be kind of obvious, but I like to think that the who part won't be so easy to guess._

 _Thanks for reading._


	3. Whispers in The Dark

Lucy woke to being shaken again. Her head felt like a rock. She went to cradle her head in her hand and the shaking stopped. She heard someone call her name, but it sounded hollow and miles away. Her head was ringing from it.

Tentatively she opened her eyes just to see who was holding her in an iron grasp. The first thing she saw was Natsu staring at her, brow in a crease, a breaths away from her face. Startled from the closeness Lucy leaned back. She wanted to fall back into her pillow, but Natsu held her tight. The light was bright and her eyes weren't used to it. Black spots swam across her vision. She wanted to pass out again and sleep.

"Lucy…?" She barely heard him, his voice so quiet and timid, so not Natsu like. His warm fingers trailed up from her arms to cup her face. "What is going on?" She didn't miss the twinge of worry in his voice. That's all she's been hearing this whole day – worry. She didn't like it.

Her mind felt like it was doused in a fog. She could still hear that voice in the back of her mind, laughing. She wanted to sleep. She just wanted for it to stop. Her vision finally cleared and her sights automatically settled on the spot where the ghostly lady had been. It was like she could see her there, standing with her black, hollow eyes. The image was imprinted in her mind.

Natsu shook her again, noticing that she's starting to faze out again. "Lucy! Focus! What is going on? What crash?" Frantic and urgent, he was scared out of his mind.

Lucy turned her attention back to Natsu, trying to comprehend his questions. So tired. If she could just lie back and sleep. Dabbing her chapped lips she tried to search for the correct words. She had to tell him, even if she sounded insane. He had to know. She can't look at him like this any longer. "I see...images...back at Erza's office, in the bathroom, just now...Gray came to pick me up...half of his face was missing...the monster...she's here..."

It occurred to her that it still was day time. Her time perception felt off. What day was it? Did Natsu tell her? She couldn't remember. Grotesque images played through her mind – her friends injured beyond help, her drowning in red liquid, smoky red eyes...

Natsu furrowed his brow, puzzled. He let go of her and let her lean back on her pillows. He sat cross-legged in front of her, not bothering to take his eye off of her in case she blanks out again. "Tell me from the beginning what happened."

In the back of her mind Lucy knew that she's not making any sense, nothing made sense to her anymore. She could see it in Natsu's expression. He didn't know what to think.

 _Lucy...Lucy…_

It was calling to her, begging her to give in. A shiver ran down her spine. She focused on Natsu and his silly pink hair. Normal. That was normal. The scar on his right cheek from a stupid fight with Gray, the little crook in his nose. Regular things she liked about him. Anything to just make the darkness fade away from her mind.

She didn't want to relive the nightmares, but she knew that she has to tell Natsu or he will bend backwards with anxiety of not knowing. Swallowing thickly she licked her still dry lips. "That morning after my nightmare...in the bathroom..." She didn't want to remember it, but she steeled her resolve and continued instead. "I saw...a lot of blood. I couldn't move...something was there. I felt like I was being torn open...until you came in." The memories of that morning spilled back in her mind, the irony stench of blood capturing her senses. She pushed it away and peered at Natsu for a reaction.

He was surprised and tense, but waiting for her to go on.

Lucy rubbed her clammy palms on the bedsheets, feeling a bit braver she steadied her voice. "When I got into work I saw a man stab Erza in the back." She noticed Natsu flinch and reach for her, but then decide against it. He scooted closer to her instead. He looked thoughtful. She took that as her cue to continue. "It wasn't her. It was like she disappeared from the ground along with the monster."

"A monster?"

His voice startled her a bit at first, he had been so quiet for a long while. She shrugged. "I don't know, I think so. After that I went to see Erza and she was alright."

Natsu sat beside her this time, taking her hand in his. Lucy continued. "In her office I saw a painting. It came alive, but Erza couldn't see it, only I could."

She could feel his hold tighten on her hand. "You're not sick, are you?" Realizing what he was asking Lucy shook her head. As far as she knew she had no mental diseases. Though she sure as hell felt like it. It did pose another question in her mind, but for now she kept it back. She already had enough unanswered questions.

"After that I called you to pick me up... When Gray picked me up-"

Natsu cut her off before she could continue. "Wait. Gray? I texted Rogue to pick you up. Gray called me a week ago, he was in Gallowstown then and moving north. He didn't say anything about coming back to Magnolia."

Lucy froze, mouth ajar. "W-what?" Then who picked her up? She couldn't mysteriously teleport to her bed. She didn't walk back either, unless she was sleepwalking. But she clearly remembers getting into a car with Gray. Her mind reeled with all kinds of possibilities, but which was true she had no idea. Uncertainty and dread pooled in her stomach. She felt sick.

"Maybe I should have taken you to a hospital instead. Wendy said you were fine just tired, I guess she was wrong."

Upon hearing Natsu's mulling Lucy sprung up in bed, face twisting into bewilderment. He wouldn't do that to her, right? He wouldn't. "You can't do that." Then she'll be trapped. She understood his reasoning, but she had a bad gut feeling about going to a hospital. If anything she trusted her instincts more than logic or common sense in this situation.

Furious Natsu sat up as well, letting go of her hand. "Why not? Obviously you're ill and you need the help. Why didn't you tell me earlier about this?" He was scowling at her, green eyes flashing in anger.

Feeling her own anger spark Lucy drew her mouth in a flat line, she turned away from his scorching gaze. "Because I'm not. I'm not ill or crazy," she almost screamed, barely managing to hold herself back. Levelling her voice she turned to him, matching his scowl with her own. "I know that I'm not. I have no reason to be. I can't explain what's happening, but I'm not crazy. It wants me to be though." Her voice was harsh and cutting, making Natsu drop his scowl and look away from her – guilty that he had suggested such a thing.

The same voice passed through her mind, it kept repeating her name. She tuned it out. She had this awful feeling in her gut that if she did go to the hospital that she would never get out, that she'll be put in an asylum pumped on drugs, barely herself. The fear of that happening was eating her from inside. She won't go. She won't let that happen.

Natsu sighed and ran a hand through his spiky hair. "It sounds crazy as fuck, Lucy. How can I believe that? I want to believe you, but you gonna give me something more solid as a 'I said so'."

She drew in a shaky breath, balling the sheets in her hands, previous anger evoparating. "I can't 'cause there isn't anything more "solid". You're just going have to believe my word. Please, Natsu. Don't do this to me. There must be an another way to take care of this, I just haven't found it yet. You're going to help me, right?" He was the only person she felt that she can trust at this moment, the only one who might understand her.

Natsu fell back on the bed, running his hands down his face he groaned. "I don't know what to do, Luce?" He stayed quiet for a while, laying starfish and Lucy started to feel like he's going to just throw his hands up and take her to the hospital no questions asked. She flinched when he abruptly sat up. "Alright. I'll help you. I believe you Luce. I think I would have noticed this a lot earlier if my girlfriend was crazy."

Relieved Lucy felt tears of happiness prickle her eyes. She laughed lightly and threw herself on top of him making him oomf and warped her hands around his neck, burying her face in his hair. "Thank you, thank you!"

She felt him warp his hands around her waist in response and chuckle, pressing his lips lightly against her cheek. "Just don't make me regret my decision."

Removing her face from his hair she kissed his cheek back. "I won't. I just want for this all to stop." She grinned and kissed him on the lips softly, sighing when he responded to her kisses. That's all she wants – for this nightmare to finally end. She knew that Natsu still didn't fully believe her, heck neither would she, but she was thankful enough that he gave her the benefit of doubt.

* * *

Both of them stayed in the bed for the rest of the morning either making out and groping each other or trying to pick apart her hallucinations and what had happened while she was out. Lucy rather enjoyed the former, the latter only kept bringing back visages of that thing. In the end they had nothing to go on, so all they could do for now was hope that it would either stop or search for help. Natsu immediately suggested to search for something on the Internet, but Lucy shot him down. Right now she wanted nothing to do with it. They'll do it later.

Only when afternoon came Lucy felt better and wanted to get out of bed. There was some kind of magic about facing your fears head on. After her talk with Natsu the voice disappeared and the flashing images stopped, her mind cleared.

Inevitably both of them were hungry, her especially. She hadn't gotten anything to eat for a while, her stomach was almost painfully empty. Lucy offered to cook some pasta for both of them, but Natsu insisted that he would do it that she should rest. That created a whole fiasco with them arguing back and forth – her saying that he's not the best cook around and him that she should relax and let him handle it. At one point Lucy just gave up and let him have his way, she was too hungry to wait longer.

When she saw him almost drop the pot's glass lid on the floor Lucy regretted her decision. Mavis help her he's going to burn down the kitchen. It wouldn't be the first time that that would happen either. He could be a pretty well cook if he concentrated, but he still messed up from time to time. He was unpredictable like that.

Thankfully for her he didn't get very far. The water was boiling in the pot for a while now and Natsu was still trying to figure out how to put the spaghetti all in, the pot was just too narrow.

Lucy sat behind the counter on a stool, trying to stifle her giggles. Sometimes when he didn't burn or break things it was just funny watching him struggle with obvious things. Part of her suspected that sometimes he did it on purpose just to hear her laugh.

"How do you even boil these things?" A few giggles escaped her at his admission of not having a clue. "I should have just gotten a bigger pot." He looked at her as if waiting for confirmation that it's the correct thing to do. Lucy just shrugged a smug smile on her face. Natsu pouted. "Aww common! Don't look at me like that."

Lucy tilted her head in question, her mirth uninterrupted. "Like what?"

"Like I'm stupid and you are right." He pouted, but the laughter was in his eyes as well.

She couldn't contain the laughs anymore. He wasn't wrong about that, well, the last part. At least he knew that she had been right. "You're not stupid, just clueless."

He stood there for a moment thoughtfully. "Isn't it the same? _"_ He put down the spaghetti on the table top eyeing her suspiciously.

Lucy laughed lightly and slid off her stool, ignoring him. She picked up the spaghetti and put one end in the boiling water, grabbing a fork she waited and when the spaghetti in the water was soft pushed it deeper in the pot until all of the spaghetti was in the pot. Putting on the lid and leaving the fork on the table she turned around, a smug smile on her face. "Like I said – clueless."

Natsu didn't say anything for a moment just kept looking at the pot with a crease in his brow. Lucy shook her head and stepped up to him, putting her hands around his waist she kissed him, lightly nibbling on his bottom lip, bringing him out of his stupor. He broke their lip lock with a satisfied smile on his face. "You still didn't answer my question."

"It's not the same," she drawled. Before he could open his mouth again she sealed her lips over his. He didn't resist her. He put his hands on her hips and brought her closer, angling her head to deepen the kiss.

This was something familiar, something they had done a million times, something that helped her forget everything. She pushed into him until she felt his body collide with the counter. He grunted in slight pain when his back hit the rim of the counter top. Lucy ignored it, letting herself drown in the warm sensations he brought out of her, the feeling of his lips on hers, his hands on her body.

She wanted to forget everything, but a small prickling sensation in the back of her mind wouldn't let her. It was distracting. Breaking their connection she gazed into his clouded green eyes. She couldn't relax. Her senses were on high alert. A hissing sound revibrated through her mind. Like on instinct she pried her eyes away from Natsu's face.

Something black was on her counter top, passing by the fruit bowl and the basket of buns Juvia left. Lucy held her breath when the creature materialised into something feline like. It turned it's head, bright red eyes settling on her. She was frozen in her spot – scared. The feline bared it's stained red teeth and lifted up a paw with sharp claws, aiming at Natsu's back. A scream got stuck in her throat.

The cat like creature didn't get far with its attack, like a flash before her eyes a knife was struck in its head, pinning it to the table, its red eyes closing. Blood immediately seeped from it, pooling around its small body.

Lucy couldn't pry her eyes away from it. It all had happened so fast. She didn't know where it had come from. They didn't have a cat. Was it all fake again?

"Lucy! Look at me!" She felt someone take her by the arms and shake her. She finally managed to look away from it and to the frantic face of Natsu. He was scared just like her and confused.

"D-did you see that?"

She saw him cast a brief glance where the still bleeding cat was and nod. Her eyes widened. He dragged her away from the counter and to the kitchen window, his hold on her just a little bit too tight. "Lucy? Are you alright?"

She opened her mouth for a response, but closed it soon after. She had no idea. She was still trying to warp her head around the whole thing. She cast her eyes away from Natsu and back to the table where the feline was still pinned to the table, bleeding out. It hadn't disappeared and Natsu had seen it. She was right, she wasn't out of her mind.

"Lucy? Luce, please talk to me? What is that thing?" She hadn't realized that Natsu had been trying to talk to her this whole time.

"I don't know." Her voice sounded gravelly and not like her own. She looked away from the heinous sight. It was real this time and the sudden urge to retch was strong. She bit it down, swallowing thickly.

"Is it the thing that has been torturing you?"

Licking her lips, she tried to find the correct words. It felt the same, it almost looked the same with it's red haunting eyes, but she wasn't sure. "Possibly."

She felt his hold on her harden. "Then it's good that I killed it," he growled

"W-what?" She cast her eyes down to where he had his hold on her. She inhaled sharply. On his right hand there was a splatter of dark blood. He really did do it. How did he manage to move so fast?

"I stabbed it." He clarified. Lucy just stared. "But to be sure I'm going to burn it. Stay here." He let her go, a determination in his eye so strong that it scared her. She watched him search in the pantry for trash bags and dislodge the knife from that thing, throw it in the sink and pick that thing up, obvious disgust on his face. He jammed it in the bag, throwing one last glance her way he exited the kitchen.

She was frozen in her spot, not believing what she was witnessing. She couldn't pry her eyes away from the bloody spot, her hands shaking lightly. All she heard from Natsu was him putting on his jacket and boots and saying that he'll be back soon before she heard the door closing.

She was alone with the blood, the small trickles that ran down the table staining the bun basket. She couldn't brush off the feeling like someone was watching her.

The boiling water on the stove caught her attention. It was overflowing with foam. Finally managing herself to move she ran to the over boiling pot. She picked up a spoon and decreased the temperature and stirred the pot. She had completely forgotten about their dinner. Thinking back on the blood on the counter her appetite vanished. Her want to vomit increased when she realized that she'll have to clean the blood up. This had been different from the previous attacks she had. Was the monster kicking it up a notch? Lucy shuddered at that thought.

A chill ran down her spine. She could feel something moving behind her back, it was hissing and mumbling. She flinched from her spot when she felt a ghost of a hand run past her shoulder. She ran away from her spot, deciding that near the window was the best place to be, her heart beat pounding in her head. The blood on the table caught her eye again. It had started to drip on the floor. The dark brown, murky colour made her gag. She could smell it.

The muddled mumbling continued. She could feel it coming closer to her. When it gasped as if searching for a breath Lucy ran to the sink and picked up a dishcloth. It was the blood. The red substance was bringing that thing to her. She didn't know how she knew that, but she couldn't ignore her instincts.

She bit back a gag and with shaking hands started to mop up the blood. The smell of decay hit her nostrils, making her question if the creature had been even alive from the start. It was disgusting and there was so much of it. Her rag was soaked in it in a minute. Such a small thing shouldn't have so much blood.

The doorbell saved her from the gruesome job. Sighing in relief she dropped the rag in the sink and quickly washed her red stained hands. She wasn't able to get it all out, but it didn't matter to her, the faster she gets out of the kitchen the better. She could only thank Natsu for being a goof and locking himself out once again.

Lucy ran through the living room opened the door almost throwing herself on the person on the other side. She faltered in her step. "Gray?"

He smiled at her briefly and waved. "Hi, Lucy. Sorry for not coming earlier, I was kind of busy. You passed out on me back in the car and I had to carry you up here. I hope you don't mind." Lucy stared at him at a loss for words. Here he was back, at her doorstep, smiling like nothing was wrong. His smile dropped. "Is everything okay? I didn't think it was appropriate to leave you unconscious outside your flat." His eyes briefly flashed to her dimly red stained hands.

Lucy blinked, her mouth trying to formulate words, not noticing Gray's features harden after he looked at her hands. He was really here. It had been bothering her all morning. She had no idea how she had managed to get home. The possibilities of how were endless, but Gray was really here. It felt like a rock rolled off her shoulders. He really did bring her up to her bed. But what was he doing here? Natsu said that he had no intention of coming back anytime soon.

"Oh, I also brought Juvia with me. I thought about what you said." He stepped aside and a woman with wavy blue hair entered her vision, waving at her and greeting her. "We wanted to see how you're doing. We heard that you've been pretty sick these past days."

She didn't know what to say. To say that this was a surprise visit would be an understatement. She's been all kinds of messed up, other people have been the least thing on her mind. Gray especially was the last one she wanted to see after his dick behaviour in the car. At least she was glad that he went and talked with Juvia.

"Lucy?" Juvia finally spoke up. She looked concerned, stepping closer to her.

Lucy realized that she had been standing in the doorway all this time, staring at them like they're aliens. "Oh, I'm sorry. Come in." She stepped aside and invited them in, closing the door after them. Her friends were worried and she was making a fool out of herself.

She watched them take off their coats and shoes. She led them in the living room, gesturing for them to take a seat on the couch. Maybe she could ask for help from them. She's tired of being in the dark, especially after the bloodbath in her kitchen. Gray must know something, he travels a lot. He even has told them a couple of times about some of his weirdest jobs, which at the time sounded preposterous, but now when she's facing a similar weird it doesn't sound so stupid anymore.

She stood there for a moment, not knowing how to breach the subject. She bit her lip, avoiding the curious gazes of Gray and Juvia. This was so awkward. She was about to open her mouth when she heard from the kitchen the lid of the pot shake from the boiling water. The pasta must be ruined by now. Cursing she apologised to them and ran back in the kitchen.

The stench of blood hit her at first. Crap, she didn't get to clean all of it up, but the pasta came first. The pot was already boiling over the rims. She racked the water out of the pot, turned off the stove and for good measure dropped a few strips of paper towels on the smeared blood. It didn't really do anything to it, the paper towels seeped up the red immediately. For now this had to do.

When she came back she was met with the peculiar sight of Natsu staring Gray down, without glowering at him or calling him in an ice related insult. She was glad that Natsu was back, but the quiet was scaring her. Juvia wasn't doing anything about it either, opting to stare at the picture frame they had on the shelf near the TV instead, hands neatly tucked in her lap.

She shifted her weight from one leg to an another. What should she do? This all felt so awkward, so out of place. She just couldn't brush off the feeling that something wasn't right.

Finding her voice she called out to Natsu, her voice hoarse.

He turned to face her, breaking the spell everyone was under. "Lucy?" He came closer to her. "I burned the..." he cut himself off and cast a wary glance towards Gray. "...trash. It's fine now." He put a hand on her shoulder and kissed her forehead. She noticed that his hands were clean from the blood now. When he pulled back he was smiling like nothing had happened, like he hadn't just had the weirdest stare down with Gray.

Lucy couldn't shake off the feeling that something was terribly, terribly wrong with this picture. Natsu was acting odd. Juvia pretended like she wasn't even in the room and Gray had this look on his face, like he knew something she didn't. It was such a crass contrast between his attitude in the car that Lucy didn't know what to think about the man anymore.

"Gray, why are you here?" The hard tone of Natsu's voice surprised her. He was acting more hostile towards Gray than usual. She felt his hand slip down to her waist and pull her against him almost protectively, his fingers digging in her side.

To Gray's credit, he looked unfazed – cool as a cucumber, which, now when she thought about it, was odd as hell. Out of the two of them Gray has always been the more level headed one, but not that calm. He had quite a temper on him as well. It's the main reason why he and Natsu got into arguments so often.

"Me and Juvia came to check up on Lucy. Two days ago when I drove her home she passed out on me and I had to carry her up to her bed. I met up with Juvia today and she said that she was coming to see you, so I tagged along," he explained in a manner that almost felt condescending and not like Gray at all.

Lucy fought back the urge to take a step back. This isn't right. There's something wrong. She could practically feel the malicious aura roll off of Gray in waves.

Juvia perked up and nodded. She smiled gently at her, which only made a shiver run down her spine. She was oddly quiet, only spoken one word to her this entire time. It was unsettling. Juvia was shy by nature, but around her and Gray she tended to turn into a chatterbox, gushing about everything. The distance the two had between them on the couch was even weirder. Juvia wouldn't pass up on a chance to cling to the raven haired man. But at least Juvia wasn't oozing hostility.

Natsu had told her this morning that Juvia had come to visit her almost religiously every day she had been out, bringing a basket of buns with her from her bakery. Natsu also told her that she had been so worried about her well being that she didn't know what to do with herself. Now when she's looking at Juvia it's hard to believe that. She was too calm.

"I didn't know you were coming back." If possible the hostility in Natsu's tone increased, it sounded almost accusing.

Gray leaned back in the couch, draping his hands on the top of it, a smirk on his face. "I don't have to report to you about my whereabouts."

This conversation was making her uncomfortable. She fidgeted in her spot, wringing her clammy hands in her t-shirt. Natsu was on the same level of unease as her if the way he was clenching his jaw and trembling was any indication. Then again he might just be pissed at Gray and ready to pounce on him.

Gray always called Natsu when he was coming into town. Natsu was his go to guy when he needed something or when he needed to just talk. Lucy always thought that their friendship was a bit odd considering that they also fought really often, but it worked, so she didn't question it.

As if finally sensing the high strung atmosphere Juvia perked up. "It was nice seeing you both, but I'm afraid we have to go." The excuse felt hurried and made up. Not suspicious at all...yeah right. Juvia got up from the couch and sent a pointed look towards Gray.

The raven haired man broke his eye contact with Natsu and laughed half-heartedly. "Yes, right. I still need to go search for my supplies." He rubbed his hands down his jeans before getting up and letting Juvia drag him towards the exit.

Natsu followed their every movement with a critical eye. Lucy was in no mood to complain about their early leave either. This whole visit had been out of the ordinary. Neither Juvia nor Gray had acted like themselves. This only made her question if this was an another fake visage brought upon her that now Natsu could see as well. She honestly didn't know what to do, so she just watched both of them put on their shoes and coats and leave.

When the door clicked shut Natsu finally released his almost painful hold on her. He sighed and fell back in the couch where moments ago Juvia had sat. He looked troubled, so Lucy sat besides him trying to offer some comfort. She leaned into him, warping her hands around his side and nuzzling her nose in his scarf.

Natsu must be really on edge if he decided to leave his white scarf on. It was his last memento from his father Igneel. To her question why he always wore it when they first met he responded that it gave him courage. Lucy's heart ached every time when she remembered how Natsu had told her that Igneel had given his life to save him from a thug that had pulled a gun out on both of them during a walk home when he had been fifteen. He used to wear the scarf everyday until he stated working as a fireman and it got in his way.

They sat like that for a while, the quiet between them high strung. "They weren't Gray and Juvia, were they?" His words were muffled by his hand that he was leaning on and an exasperated crease was in his brow.

Lucy let go of him wrung her hands in her lap, grimacing at the flecks of blood still stuck behind her fingernails. "No." It had been obvious as day that they were imposters. What that meant Lucy had no idea. They just showed up, glared at them and left. It made no sense.

"Do you think it was the monster?"

She thought over the whole encounter. "Possibly." If it was weird there was a high chance that it was the same thing that had been after her from the start. She just couldn't figure out what it wanted with her. It unsettled her to think that the monster had been around her when she was unconscious. There was no way that the Gray in the car had been the real Gray now that she thinks about it.

Natsu suddenly shot up from his seat. "Well whatever it was I'm going to get rid of it. It won't get away with possessing my friends." His voice was low and serious.

Lucy gasped at the prospect of her friends being in danger, coiling the ball of dread in her stomach bigger. She hadn't thought of it like that. Was that really Gray and Juvia only possessed or impostors? This all was so confusing. She had so many questions, but no answers.

Natsu ran to the kitchen with large steps. She followed him a bad suspicion leaving her restless. She knew that he was about to do something crass and stupid. He had a nasty tendency to act before thinking things through. When she saw him reaching for the same knife he had stabbed through the cat she caught his wrist and held it in place. "Wait! We should think this through. Let's call Juvia and Gray first to make sure."

He looked at her, pure hatred blazing in his eyes. For a moment she thought that he would ignore her and rip his arm free. When he exhaled loudly from his nose, Lucy relaxed slightly. He let her take the knife from his hand and settle it down on the bloody counter. He was pissed, she could feel it and it was making him highly irrational. It was scaring her.

Natsu ran his hand through his unruly hair. "Alright. I'll call Gray and you call Juvia if any of them sound weird we're coming for them." Lucy only nodded at his harsh tone, watching him strut out of the kitchen in search for his phone. She didn't like this situation either, it all was going out of control. She hardly even knew what was real and what was not.

What unsettled her the most was the fact that Natsu was awfully alright with pulling out a knife on someone. He always had been a tad bit too protective about her and their friends, but jumping the gun so fast...she didn't like it.

She will put a stop to this before anyone has to get hurt. It can't go on like this. It was affecting her and Natsu way too much.

Lucy was startled from her thoughts when harsh, feminine laughs echoed around the room, mocking her. Biting her lip to stop herself from shivering she took a step back, hitting her back against a cupboard. The laughs subtly faded with sharp gasps in between. She bit back the tears that threatened to spill from the unfairness of this.

* * *

 _I'm starting to get so uncertain about this story it's unreal. I have a feeling that I'm doing something wrong, like the characters aren't ooc, are they? Considering the situation they're in I tried to write them like themselves._

 _I also know that it's been really confusing so far, but hopefully Lucy will manage to answer some of the questions or give an idea of what's happening. I'll also probably go over this chapter again tomorrow to fix mistakes like always. I've just been sitting on this chapter for such a long time that I'm not even sure if it's good or not. It's a common problem of mine and the reason why I struggle with finishing multi chapter stories. But this time I hope it will be different, considering that I have already planned out the whole story and the chapter count.  
_

 _Thanks for reading._


	4. Is it Real?

_I think this is the part where I officially announce that the stories genre is supernatural as well. Although by now it should have been obvious. I don't think I ever told what the title of the story meant either. Basically I got it from a music track, it sounded nice, so I used it. The dictionary says otherwise. As a verb it means 'to remove internal organs' or 'to deprive of vital or essential parts'. As it turns out the name fits the story quite nicely, though it might not be visible now.  
_

 _Anyway let's see how well Lucy gets along with her friends._

* * *

Lucy spent the better part of her morning browsing the web on her phone. After yesterday's incidents she couldn't bare staying home alone, so she tagged along with Natsu. She had some free time off work (Laxus upon hearing about her being sick had allowed her to take the week off), but Natsu didn't. So here she was sitting in the lounge area of the fire department nose deep in her phone. So far her search had been fruitless and confusing as hell.

Yesterday when she had called Juvia everything had been alright. The blue haired woman was worried, of course, but she was fine and herself. It only confused her more. She had no idea what had happened in her living room. Who was that fake Juvia and Gray? Now Gray, on the other hand, didn't pick up his phone at all, which was worrying, but quite typical from him. She's so going to punch him when he comes back to Magnolia. The real him.

Natsu was a whole other deal. He had been tense for the rest of the day, flinching every so often at the slightest shift of a shadow. She couldn't really blame him for his behaviour, she had been in the same boat as him. Though it still made her uneasy knowing that Natsu got awfully violent when facing danger. She probably stopped him twice from throwing her house plant out of the window only because the slight gush of warm air from the radiators shifted its leaves.

That's why she had spent the better part of her yesterday's evening and today going through numerous articles on the internet. Natsu had helped her at first, but he had deemed the task too exhausting and had opted for taking a shower instead to cool off. Lucy didn't have anything to say to that, he had always been like that and no matter how hard she tried it was a challenge to try and get him to focus on research. It was best if he cooled off anyway.

She had to admit it was frustrating trying to find out what exactly was haunting her. She had tried entering some of the key elements of what was happening to her in the search box and all she got was a myriad of contradictory information. One article said that the monster is a shapeshifter, another one said ghosts, demons, wraiths or ghouls. Heck, she even got results for frickin' orcs. It didn't help that half of them had been TV show or game wikis.

Honestly, she wasn't that surprised at all that her search had been so all over the place. It was to be expected, but it did help her understand for what kind of signs she needed to look for to determine what was haunting her and how to get rid of it. It didn't make her feel safer or calmer, but at least it was better than nothing.

On the bright side, after that little voice in the kitchen nothing else had been haunting her. It was quiet, a bit eerie after everything, but still a welcome quiet.

Sighing and running her hand through her long side ponytail Lucy slumped in the sofa. She put her phone on the armrest. Her head was buzzing from all the information, all kinds of colours and text flashing around her vision. She was exhausted. She had been so spooked last night that she could barely get in a wink of sleep despite Natsu being close to her, holding her close. She didn't think that he got a good nights rest either.

She perked up in her seat when she saw someone with spikes enter the lounge area. She sighed in relief when it was just one of Natsu's friends – Gajeel. That man looked too scary for his own good. He really should tame his unruly hair and maybe wear less spikes.

Gajeel only gave her a passing, nonchalant look before he moved on to the coffee machine in the corner on a table full of cutlery and cups. He picked up one of the solid colour cups and put it in the machine, turning it on.

Lucy followed his movements like a hawk. It had almost become like second nature to her now, to suspect everyone around her. She didn't know when, who or what could jump her and she didn't want to be caught by surprise. She watched him pick up a spoon and pour sugar in his coffee. All the while she also noticed that he was casually dressed for today, donning his usual combat boots, cargo pants, a simple black tee and a shit ton of spiky accessories. He must be off duty today, having a day in the office instead.

Gajeel opened the fridge and pulled out a sandwich. He took a seat at the table, which was right across from her position. He was about to take a bite from his sandwich when he abruptly stopped and cast his piercing gaze at her.

"Do I have something on my face?" he bit out in a gruff voice, absently running his free hand down the side of his face.

Lucy almost blurted 'yes', but bit her tongue. He always had something on his face, the ridiculous amounts of piercings for one. "No! It's just that...err..." Crap! She doesn't have a sensible excuse for staring at him like a museum exhibition.

Gajeel raised his eyebrow suspiciously. "Something on your mind?"

Lucy bit her lip. He was way more perceptive that she thought. She nodded, looking away from his gaze. That little scrape on the floor was really interesting. Maybe she could ask him what he knows about the supernatural. He seems like a guy that would be into that kind of stuff. She needs all the help she can get to sort this mess out.

She listened to him shuffle a bit in his seat and stir his coffee. "Okay. Go bother someone else with your problems then."

Shocked Lucy looked up at him. Rude asshole. Did he ask her that only to brush her off? Probably. Levy's told her plenty about Gajeel and his weird quirks and habits, some of which she would prefer not to know. Oh, the woes of having a chatty best friend. She probably hasn't been better in that aspect.

Gajeel continued eating his sandwich and drinking his coffee like nothing had happened, tapping his foot to a beat of his own.

Lucy drew her mouth in a flat line. She got up from the sofa and took the seat at the table opposite from him, drawing his attention for a moment before he resumed with eating. Lucy crossed her arms on the table, leaning on them. She didn't really know how to breach the subject. She wanted to ask him, but in a way that doesn't make her sound like she's on crack. Not many people believe in the existence of paranormal.

"What...errr...what do you know about ghosts?" That sounded simple enough, hopefully.

He paused in his movements and eyed her weirdly. "What?"

Swallowing her nerves Lucy drew a shaky breath, leaning back in her chair. "Y-you know...like ghosts and all that weird stuff - the paranormal..." Dear Mavis, she hoped that she isn't making a mistake by asking him this. She drew her hands in fists in her lap. Gajeel could be unpredictable at times and right now from the almost pissed look in his eye Lucy thought that he's going to declare that she's bonkers and leave her. She didn't know why she was so scared of that. It was harmless, but somehow the fear of someone else saying that she's lost it made her feel like she really was insane. She knew that she wasn't and by thinking that she was the monster would win. She won't give up that easily.

"What are you and Shrimp planning?"

His counter question caught her off guard. "What?" What does this have to do with Levy? And planning? She's not planning anything. Unless he's saying that Levy's in the same trouble as her. Lucy her perked up. Crap! It couldn't be, could it? It sounds far fetched, but Gajeel could be cryptic sometimes. "Are you saying that..."

Gajeel cut her off before she could finish. "Yes, Shrimp told me about it." He took a sip of coffee like it was just a regular friday.

Lucy couldn't believe it. How could he be so calm about this? This is life threatening stuff that could potentially get you a ticket to the asylum or get you killed. Why isn't he doing anything? Knowing Gajeel he would freak out and do the dumbest stuff to get answers. "Then do you know anything that could help us? And is Levy alright? We haven't talked for a while. I didn't know that she was in the same situation as me." Mavis, she should call Levy and ask her if everything is alright. With the way Gajeel is acting it almost seems like he already took care of it? She has no idea, but it gave her hope nonetheless.

"Hey, I know nothin' about this kind of shit, I already told Shrimp that. She can do her own research by herself. Don't bring me into this again. I don't care about your book scripts." He finished up his sandwich. "That stupid book of hers better be worth all that crap she put me through." He trailed off, murmuring to himself about dumb book concepts, scripts and restless nights from Levy's questions about his thoughts on the matter.

Flabbergasted Lucy just listened to him. He was talking about a book script Levy was working on. Holy hell. She got her hopes up for nothing. She faintly remembered Levy talking about a new book she's been working on. If she remembered right then Levy did say that her book featured some paranormal elements and she had told Levy that she had been working on a story of her own, but she had long forgotten about that ever since her life turned into a horror show. Shoot! Gajeel probably thought that she was asking for his opinions on the matter for her book research just like Levy apparently had done.

Disappointed yet relieved that her friend was alright Lucy went back to her spot on the sofa, muttering a soft 'okay' to Gajeel. She should have known that this wouldn't be so simple. Lately nothing seemed to be. Jumping to conclusions didn't help her either. She was just so hopeful that there is someone who knows something that she jumped the gun too fast. Her fault.

Gajeel didn't pay her any attention anymore, focusing on finishing his cup of coffee instead. It didn't matter to her anyway. He made his opinions clear enough on the subject.

Loud voices were coming from the hallway and recognizing Sting's enthusiastic laughter she pocketed her phone and sat straighter in her seat. He would no doubt pester her with questions if he saw her glum face. Sting was a good friend, but sometimes he was way too nosey for his own good. She didn't want to experience the same situation she just went through with Gajeel. Besides she had a feeling that Sting had a less of a clue on the subject than Gajeel did.

It was lunch break already and soon the lounge will be swarming with people. When Sting's blonde head entered her field of vision Lucy visibly shrunk in her spot. He noticed her immediately and confidently strutted his way towards her. Rogue and Erik quietly followed him, but instead of ganking her like Sting was they minded their own business.

"Hey, sunshine! Haven't seen you around in a while." Sting casually dropped himself on the sofa beside her and draped his arm around her shoulders, giving her a sort of side hug. "What brings you back to this wonderful establishment?"

Lucy allowed herself to smile. Sting's friendliness was infectious despite her herself feeling far from it. "Hey, Sting." She had to think over her words for a moment before answering him. "Nothing really. I just had a free day off from work and I wanted to see you guys again." She settled for a half truth.

She was relieved when Sting bought her excuse with a laugh. "You didn't have to waste your day off by coming here. You could just give us a call anytime and we'll be happy to spend some time with you _after_ work."

She guessed that he was right. They hadn't done a movie night in a while or just a simple outing, but with their lives being busy as they were it kind of made sense. She and Natsu were busy with work a lot. Sting was engaged to Yukino and they were planning for a wedding. She heard that Rogue was busy setting up his own workshop and others were simply too caught up in work or in their personal lives. Sometimes life as an adult sucked. They always did all kinds of crazy stuff back in college, having the time of their lives. If she wasn't busy being haunted by who knows what she might have just taken Sting up on his offer.

Before Lucy could open her mouth to give him her reply Natsu walked in the room and Sting disentangled himself from her to chat with him. She just sighed instead. Sometimes Sting could rival Natsu with his attention span.

She made brief eye contact with Natsu. He smiled at her and turned his attention back to Sting who was describing something to him. Lucy could see that Natsu wasn't entirely back to normal either. His smile was strained, only half listening to what Sing was telling him and he looked as tired as she felt. This monster attack had hit them both pretty hard. She just wished that she could put a stop to this. She had next to nothing to go on.

It had been quiet right now, but she could feel it in her gut that it wasn't over just yet. She could only hope that the little tidbits she had read off the internet were true and that they would help her solve this situation.

"Hey, Luce." Natsu's voice brought her back from her thoughts. He took the seat Sting had previously occupied. "What did you find?" His look was grim, but filled with determination. She admired that about him. No matter the situation and the chances of success Natsu was always ready to fight and get his way.

Lucy intertwined her fingers in her lap, looking away from his face. "Nothing solid. I only got some leads. I'm not sure what we're facing yet, but I'll send you the articles that looked promising."

"Alright." He put his hand around her and kissed her temple. "It's better than nothing. We can work with what we have and get rid of that thing."

Finally managing a real smile of her own she warped her hands around his neck, hugging him as much as she could from their position. He smelled a lot like coal and dust. She realized that he was wearing his work clothes, the under-shirt and pants he always wore under his protective fire equipment. She let go of him leaning back on the sofa. She was so glad that she wasn't alone in this, that she always had support from Natsu and vice versa. She could sit like this forever, the weight of his arm around her, his body warmth soothing her, no words needed between them to understand each others needs.

Sadly she knew that she had things she needed to take care off. She has to call Levy and make sure if she is alright. Her little chat with Gajeel made her paranoid. Heck, maybe she could call Lisanna and Cana as well and get them all to go over at Juvia's to talk. She needs that right now - something familiar to set her mind at ease. It felt like ages since she last saw her girl friends.

She relayed her thoughts to Natsu and he nodded, giving her small peck on the lips and telling her to be careful before letting her go.

She pulled out her phone and exited the loud lounge area that doubled as a kitchen. She quickly sent some of the important articles she found on the web to Natsu before calling Levy. While she waited for Levy to pick up she walked her way towards Natsu and Sting's shared office, where she left her coat. It was taking Levy longer than usual to answer her phone, making all kind of horrible scenarios pass through her mind.

When Levy picked up her phone with a breathless 'hello' Lucy sighed. She really was getting way too paranoid lately.

"Hey, Lev! How's it going? I haven't heard from you in a while."

" _Oh, hey, Lu!_ " She sounded relieved hearing that it was her. Lucy barely contained a chuckle. She probably again got too immersed in reading and missed a deadline her editor had set her for her book. " _I've been pretty busy. Just got a shipment of books from Pearson. I've been sorting them out all morning._ "

Lucy smiled entering Natsu's empty office and grabbing her coat. It was great knowing that Levy was all good. She was still shuffling between her job at the book store and her writing career. "Do you have some time to meet up? At Juvia's maybe? I really need to talk to you."

She heard Levy move some things around on the other end before she answered. " _Sorry, Lu, I'm really busy. I need to sort these out before afternoon and I really, really need to send in my draft to my editor. Raincheck?_ "

Lucy tried not to let the disappointment over come her. Realistically she should have expected that. It was a friday, but people still had work. "Okay, Lev. I'll call you." She exchanged goodbyes with Levy before hanging up.

Warping her pink scarf around her neck Lucy tried calling Lisanna next. Lisanna worked with her sister in their bar, they usually worked in shifts, so hopefully she would be free.

* * *

In the end only Cana had free time to meet up with her. She suspected that she had free time only because Lucy told that lunch would be on her and Cana loved freebies and ditching her job at the casino. Her father owned the place, so she always got away with being sloppy anyway. Despite that Lucy knew that Cana loved her job and was really good at it too. Cana just enjoyed messing with her father too much.

Lucy had been sitting in Juvia's bakery slash cafe for ten minutes already, waiting for the brunette to show up, nursing a cup of strawberry tea. She had went over the things she wanted to ask Cana about about ten times and each time she sounded crazier and crazier to herself. Was it even the right thing to do? Maybe she should just keep the monster problem to her and Natsu. Seeing how well this went with Gajeel she doubted if it will be different with Cana. But, on the other hand, she just couldn't sit and not tell her friends about it. What if it endangered them too? She would feel like a jerk then for not informing them sooner.

Her nerves high strung Lucy flinched when Cana finally arrived and took a seat opposite from her, slinging her large purse on the seat next to her. "Ah, I'm so glad you called, Lucy. Work was such a bore."

Calming her erratic heartbeat Lucy sent a small smile her way. She didn't approve of Cana ditching her responsibilities, but at this instance she was glad that she did. Talking to her friends always made her feel better, especially Cana, who always managed to cheer her up or offer a different perspective to her. "I already asked Juvia to bring us some chocolate pancakes. You can order your drink." Lucy knew that Cana preferred something alcoholic, but her tastes changed very often, so she didn't dare to order for her.

Cana eyed her cup of tea with mock distaste. "Good call. I'll just get a bottle of tequila." She also learned not to question the amounts of alcohol Cana liked to consume. The woman could drink anyone under the table.

Biting her lip Lucy watched Cana walk over to the counter and order that bottle of tequila. She was so immersed in watching Cana that she didn't notice someone slide in the seat Cana had previously occupied. From the corner of her eye she noticed some movement. She had to take a double take.

"Levy? What are you doing here? I thought that you said that you were busy."

Levy laughed and absently waved her hand. "Don't worry, Lucy. I got everything done. You sounded worried on the phone, so I rushed here to see you."

To say that Lucy was surprised was an understatement. Levy managing to do something on time was a rare sight, the woman had a tendency to side track a lot, doing numerous things at once. Composing herself Lucy smiled. "Well, thanks for coming. Cana's here as well, by the way."

Speak of the devil. Just as soon as Lucy mentioned her name Cana was back, taking the other seat, where she threw her purse on seeing as Levy had taken her previous one. She immediately chatted up with Levy, opening her bottle and taking a large swig.

Lucy quietly watched both of them talk, gathering her nerves. She was faced with the same problem she had when she was talking with Gajeel. How does she say this without bringing on misunderstandings or sounding like a mental patient? Maybe she should just warn them about the monsters in the dark. Lucy scoffed at that thought. She sounded childish even to herself. No, there had to be a better way to word it. She just had to find it.

"Lucy?"

Hearing her name being called snapped her out of her thoughts. Cana was eyeing her weirdly, not sure what to make of her, and Levy was taking a bite out of a pancake. Looking before her she noticed a plate of her own pancakes. When did those get there? Did she really just space out so hard that she lost her sense of awareness? That was worrying. She needs to get a grip and do this.

"You've been staring at that wall for a while now. Are you alright?" Cana asked her the same question people had been asking her a lot these past few days. She was almost tired from just hearing the question.

Taking her fork Lucy cut a piece of pancake and put it in her mouth all the while Cana watched her, expecting her to answer her. She guessed this was her chance to breach the subject. "That's why I called you here."

Levy stopped in her bite midway to eye her. The brief angry look in her eyes startled Lucy for a moment, but it passed soon enough. She must be seeing things, which is nothing new to her. She needs to tell them, to warn them.

"There are things after me, haunting, invading my senses. I've been fighting them for the past few days." She had lowered her voice, opting to look at her plate rather than her friends. It really did sound crazy when she said it out loud. Still somehow she couldn't shake off the feeling that she was making a mistake by telling them. Interested in Cana's and Levy's reactions, she lifted her eyes to meet theirs.

Cana just stared at her, blinking, her tequila bottle halfway up to her face. Levy on the other hand, to her credit, was taking it better. She looked thoughtful, her face scrunched up in concentration. Well, this wasn't what Lucy was exactly expecting, but it was a start. Not that she expected much from the very beginning. Levy might misunderstand her just like Gajeel and Cana could think that she's pulling a prank on her. It happened commonly between them, where they would suddenly prank each other for laughs or some other reason.

She was about to continue with her story when Cana cut her off. "What the everliving fuck are you talking about, Lucy?" Her outburst caught the attention of some other patrons of the cafe.

Shocked for a moment Lucy stared at her confused blue eyes. When she noticed people staring at them she smiled nervously and laughed waving her hand, trying to ease the curious eyes off of them. This went south faster than she thought. Shit! Maybe it was a bad idea to tell them. She should have just kept her mouth shut and suffered in silence. Still it felt wrong not to say anything either.

When curious eyes were away from them and Cana was still looking at her like she had announced that she's changing her name and moving to Alvarez, Lucy took that as her cue to continue. "I'm talking about the paranormal. Things in the dark, things that are dangerous." Her voice was quieter than she wanted for it be, part of her was afraid to say such things out loud. She felt like if she did those very things would target her more than before. They were unpredictable and she could never be too careful.

Cana took a large mouthful of her drink before slamming the bottle on the table, rising attention to them again. Cana really didn't do subtle very well. "So? Are you talking about fiction? Why did you bring me here then? Levy could help you with it more than I could." She absently gestured to the blue haired woman sitting beside her, who had been oddly quiet throughout this whole conversation.

Sighing Lucy took a sip from her lukewarm tea. It was turning into the Gajeel situation all over again. They hadn't seen what she had gone through like Natsu had, so of course they were more sceptical. Still it kind of hurt that her friends couldn't at least give her the benefit of doubt. Though she kind of understood them. If someone came up to her and announced that they think that they are being haunted by vampires she would deem them delirious and show them the fastest way to the hospital.

"There hasn't been anything you've been hiding from us, Lucy, is there?" The sudden question from the petite woman caught their attention. Levy had gotten a glass of juice, while Lucy hadn't been paying attention, nursing it in her hands. The pointed look on her face unnerved her. Lucy had a nagging suspicion of what Levy was implying with it. She tried to push it to the back of her mind, refusing to even exercise that thought right now.

"No, I haven't. That's why I'm telling you now that there are things out there that you should look out for. I don't want you guys to fall victim like me."

She saw Cana's face soften up, a sad frown on her lips. "If some creep touched you you should have called the police, Lucy. Don't stay quiet about it."

Lucy puffed her cheeks, exhaling a second later. Why was it so hard to get her point across? Was it really so hard to believe? Is that the reason why they are dismissing the idea of monsters and suggesting other things, more believable, realistic things? And why is Levy so quiet?

"No, Cana. Well, yes, you should watch out for creeps, but that isn't what I'm talking about. I'm saying that there's possibly a wraith or a demon haunting me, making my life hell and I can't do anything about it. And not just me. There possibly could be other people suffering from this and I want to make it stop." Her voice was harder this time. She finished up her cup of tea and took another bite from her pancakes. They had been talking for so long that her pancakes were starting to get cold and she hated cold soggy pancakes.

Cana was on pause, baffled, her face scrunched up in confusion.

Levy suddenly laughed almost uncontrollably. It made Lucy frown. That wasn't the reaction she had expected. "There are no such things as wraiths or demons, it's a work of fiction, folklore." She calmed down. "Are you sure that you don't have any mental illnesses? You sound really sure about the reality of those things." She smiled, hiding her mirth behind her glass while she took a sip.

Cana sighed, considering Levy's words a bit. "It does sound crazy. You are aware that monsters under the bed don't exist, right, Lucy?"

Incredulously she stared at the two women she considered friends. Were they mocking her? Cana sometimes liked to take a jab at something to lighten the mood. But Levy? She wouldn't do that. Who the hell was she? Levy would never do that.

Lucy opened her mouth to protest, but cut herself off. The Levy sitting across from her was smiling like the Cheshire cat, teeth and all, black goo slipping past her lips. Her breath hitched and she looked away from her.

She knew that something would go wrong. She saw it before when Levy first came here, that flash of anger was her sign that it wasn't Levy and she had chosen to ignore it, writing it off as a trick of the light. How stupid could she be? Now she just told the monster her intentions. She had to get out of here, but she exactly couldn't leave Cana alone either. Unless it wasn't Cana that was sitting in front of her.

She seriously should have been more careful from the very start. Now she was paying for her carelessness and eagerness to get things moving. She wasn't stupid enough to think that the monster would let her go so easily after she told about their existence to Gajeel and Cana. She didn't know how she knew, but she could feel it instinctively that the monster didn't like her talking about it to others.

"But honestly, Lucy, you should get some rest, you look tired. I've been there – too much alcohol, not enough sleep, long work hours and bam! I can taste colours and see Care Bear hitting on me, which, by the way, wasn't a pleasant experience, he was too grabby."

By now Lucy had already tuned out Cana and her rambling, her mind in a whirlwind of thoughts. A cold sweat broke out on her skin. The fake Levy was still staring at her and no one was noticing it.

Paranoia overtook her and with a haphazard excuse she grabbed her things and fled the table, displeased shouts from Cana asking where she is going following her. She messed up. She really shouldn't have opened her mouth. It was probably wrong of her to leave Cana alone there, but she reassured herself with the fact that she wasn't alone-alone or whatever. She couldn't think clearly anymore. Tugging on her coat and warping her scarf she walked towards a random direction. As long as it was away from that thing she didn't care which way she went.

She supposed it had been silly of her to hope that this day would pass by silently. By now little scares like this didn't affect her too much, it was the thought that something worse could happen after, that if the articles she read on the Internet were valid. It twisted her stomach with nerves, real or not. The frustrating part was that she had zero clue what that monster was. Nothing it had done so far had been in any of the lore she'd read. It was obviously taunting her, almost promising that worse things would come her way.

She felt helpless, like no matter what she does she won't be able to solve this, get back her life. She hated that feeling.

Lucy stuffed her cold hands in the pockets of her coat, trembling at the wind that whipped at her face. She was carefully looking at the ground below her feet, avoiding to look at other people. She didn't know what to do next. Going home was probably a good idea, but she didn't want to be alone in her flat where that thing could take advantage of her and mess with her mind and push her further into believing that she was crazy.

The streets of Magnolia were fairly busy, people bustling to and fro despite the chilly weather. It would start snowing soon. Lucy stopped for a moment and cast a look up in the sky. Dark grey clouds loomed over Magnolia, promising rain. Bitterly Lucy thought that she feels exactly like those clouds.

Her glum musings got interrupted when a hand got placed on her shoulder and someone breathed in her ear with a chilling breath. She froze up in her place, heart in her throat. Almost instinctively she knew that it was the monster. Sharp nails pressed through her coat, bruising her and an almost palpable scent of sulphur hit her nostrils. She gasped.

" _I'm going to eat you up, girlie and your little boy toy as well,_ " it breathed into her ear, in a voice that was distinctively female. It let go of her shoulder and walked past her revealing a mop of blue hair that looked exactly like Levy's.

It was the fake Levy. It revealed itself as a fake and she finally had an idea what it was, the sulphur giving it away. Everything else more or less clicked into place.

Lucy swallowed her terror, balling her shaking fists. She didn't have anything on her that could hurt it, but she isn't going to let it walk away from her after all it had done to her. She's not going to let it walk all over her. Steeling her resolve she took a hesitant step forward, her stomach fumbling from nerves. She needs to hurry up before it walks away and she misses her chance. She's done with standing around and doing nothing.

When Lucy finally got herself to move the monster had already passed the corner. Growling softly to herself as Lucy pushed forward, confident that she could still get to it in time. This was her chance. She wasn't going to waste it with trembling and crumbling on herself. Running the street corner herself, she smiled when she saw the same blue hair walking a bit further down the street.

Gotcha!

She pushed past people, apologizing, but not daring to take her eyes off the distinctive coloured hair. That thing is going to pay for what it has done: for taking the appearance of Levy, for imitating Juvia, for making her look like a kook and for messing with her life in general.

When she was close enough she tackled it, throwing herself on it. Ignoring the gasps and startled looks of others she clawed at its hair, screaming profanities. It felt so satisfying at that moment to cause pain on the very thing that had pained her. She wanted to smash its head repeatedly into the asphalt, but someone pulled her away, retaining her arms and holding her in place. Briefly she noticed that there were voices of startled people all around her, shouting myriad of things.

"Let go of me! You don't understand!" she screamed, trashing in the man's arms that was holding her. She was seeing red. Her rage was so profound that she couldn't hold it in, so she screeched. She had that thing in her arms, she could have killed it. Why didn't they understand? She could have stopped all of this here and now. Why? Why were they holding her back? Don't they see the monster in front of them.

When she heard short sniffles coming from the woman on the ground Lucy ceased her trashing, finding the reaction odd coming from a bloodthirsty monster. Calming a bit, her vision clearing from the red. What she saw made her gasp. Her friend was on the ground, large tears in her eyes, absently rubbing her hand over the back of her head. A woman helped Levy get up. She looked spooked, incredulous.

Lucy inhaled sharply, anger dissipating. It wasn't the same Levy that had threatened her just a few moments ago. She made a mistake. This was the real Levy. She didn't have that sinister glint in her eye or the sharp teeth just a whole lot of hurt on her face. She had no idea what had just happened right now, it was almost like she'd been possessed by something.

"Lu?"

That one little word broke her. Tears spilled down her eyes like a waterfall a wail leaving her lips.

What had she done?

She went limp and would have fallen on the ground if it weren't for the man holding her up.

 _What had she done?_

She had been so sure. She was so sure that it was the monster, that if she attacked it she would be able to get answers, get her revenge. She didn't even think that it could actually be Levy she assaulted. She sobbed, deciding to look at the ground. She couldn't look into Levy's eyes, they had so much heartbreak in them. She was responsible for that and it wrenched her heart.

* * *

 _The amount of synonyms for crazy in this chapter were off the charts xD I didn't even know that I knew that many._

 _Anyway, I would like to thank you guys for your support so far, I'm really enjoying how you're already asking the questions I want you to ask. Hopefully this chapter cleared some things up (and raised like ten new questions lol). I'm really enjoying writing this clusterfuck so far (must probably be because I already have the whole thing planned out) and I really love hearing your feedback. It's like crack - you can never get enough._

 _Thank you for reading._


	5. Judge And Jury

_I'm finally back with a new chapter. This one was a bit harder for me to write, so it took me longer to finish, sorry. I want to thank everyone who reviewed, faved and followed. It means a lot, guys._

 _Also thanks to the anon, who pointed out the OOCness in Cana. You shouldn't feel sorry for anything, it's exactly what I asked for and I'm grateful to you for pointing it out. I regularly go back to my chapters and every now and then fix some details, I fixed the descriptions around Cana as well. And you're totally right about that plethora in FT fandom about Levy being Lucy's best friend. From canon perspective it doesn't make much sense, so I fixed some things around that as well. I suppose that such a thing exists in this fandom because of the shipping, like making Levy Lucy's best friend and then doing the whole NaLu GaLe thing in a single story. I agree with you that Cana is more of a friend to Lucy than Levy._

 _Anyway, let's continue with Lucy's misery._

* * *

Spending 24 hours in confinement wasn't how Lucy had planned her day to go. Though she guessed that she deserved that and possibly a lot more after what she had done to Levy. Someone had called the cops and after a short retelling of the events from some bystanders she had been arrested for assaulting an innocent and causing a disturbance. Lucy had hardly heard what was being said, she had been too absorbed in self pity. Even as the cop was taking her away she couldn't lift up her eyes to look at Levy. She probably hater her now. Lucy couldn't blame her for it either.

While she had stayed in her cell she had gone over the events of what had happened over and over, trying to find the point at which she had snapped. In the end she came to the conclusion that the demon had done something to her when it had sunken it's claws into her. It actually was an another thing she was kind of glad to find out. The demon had gotten close enough to her for her to smell it's sulphuric breath, thus giving itself away. It had been one of the things that had been repeated the most on the lore about demons – their smell of sulphur or rotten meat.

At first Lucy had wallowed in self pity, feeling dead to the world, but upon coming to the realization that she finally had some leverage she had bit down on her sorrow and promised herself that she'll finally take care of it. Giving in was just what the demon wanted. If she gave in it could control her and do who knows what next – the small amount of lore she had read about demons said as much. It was the reason why the first thing that she had done when she had gotten home was meticulously continue her search.

This was her chance, she finally has an advantage and there's no way in hell she's going to spend what time she has agonizing over what happened between her and Levy. Lucy did plan to apologise to her at some point, but she figured that the other woman probably needs some space right now. She certainly would want some if a friend had attacked her like that. Besides Lucy herself didn't feel like her heart's in the right place for apologising or heart to heart conversations right now.

Unlike Levy, who hadn't even tried to contact her, her other friends were blowing up her phone, Cana being the most persistent one. She did feel a bit guilty about not answering their calls or messages, but she didn't want to talk about that incident at the moment. Though not to be a complete bitch about it she did send a quick message to Cana saying that she's fine, she's sorry about what she'd done and that she'll explain everything later. Right now she didn't want to face the consequences of talking about the demons to others again.

With Natsu it was an another story. She told him everything. So far it seemed that the demons were targeting both of them, focusing more on her. Needless to say Natsu wasn't happy to hear about the reason behind her confinement. Even the good news of finding out what the monster finally is didn't soothe his sour mood. He was ready to go guns blazing and kick that demon in its teeth before she had to remind him that they don't know where the demon is and how to get rid of it. It had already proven to be mischievous enough with the Levy trick. It also worried Lucy that she didn't know if the demon did actually posses Levy or acted like her.

Argh, it was so confusing.

She had spent already a good amount of her day trying to understand the nature of demons and she had only gotten a shit-ton of information that at some points got contradictory. She briefly also wondered if it was just demons after her. Maybe there was a shapeshifter after her as well. Now that would be just fucking wonderful.

There was no bright side either. She had found a couple of ways to exorcise demons, but most of those ways needed a priest and for the demon to actually possess someone, which Lucy was sure, by that point, wasn't the case with her situation. Another ways included really sketchy ingredients to either summon the demon or send them back to hell. She was pretty sure that she won't be able to find a bone of an infant anytime soon. Still she wasn't going to give up. If she'll have to create a new way to exorcise then she will.

She was just glad that finally she had some confirmation that she wasn't mentally insane, that her hasty deductions about it being monsters were actually correct. She could hardly believe it herself. With how hard her week had been she had even started to doubt herself at some points. Even now she had that little sliver of fear in her, claiming that this all was fake and she might be wrong.

Looking back she realized that she was lucky that her mother had taught her to be strong no matter what, that she should follow her heart and instincts. It had helped her get this far without breaking. It also was this little advice that had helped her get together with Natsu. Her father didn't like Natsu at all, claiming that he was unworthy of her time and that she should concentrate on her studies instead. At that time it had been one decision of many where she had disobeyed her father and followed her own feelings. She had finally started to make her own decisions and choices.

"Hey, Luce?"

Her thought process got cut off by Natsu. He had paused his game and was now staring at her, slight worry in his eyes.

Lucy cast a brief glance his way, indicating that she was listening before turning back to her laptop and scrolling through the tenth website about demon summoning and looking through her notes to see what she already had and what she didn't have.

At first Natsu had helped her out with her searching, but somewhere along the way he stopped to make lunch or take breaks, or go out. While he worked in random bursts Lucy hadn't stopped to take any breaks ever since she got back from jail. She was on a roll and right now, in her book, stopping meant quitting and letting the demons win.

"Maybe you should take a break? I can continue from where you left off." He turned to face her from his position on the couch to where she was laying covered in a blanket on the window seat.

Stunned Lucy tore her gaze away from her laptop. "I can't do that, Natsu. I've almost cracked this. If I stop now I might miss something important."

Natsu clicked his tongue in displeasure. Lucy frowned. She didn't like that look on his face, it meant that he was about to do something she wouldn't like. "Lucy you have to take a break. You've been at it for two days already. I've barely managed to get you to eat something."

Anger flared in her eyes. Was he trying to stop her too? Didn't he want her to succeed? Lucy huffed. "I'm fine." She turned her attention back to her laptop, reading over her notes for the fifth time. She almost has enough information to understand how to get rid of that thing. Her freedom is so close. How can she just drop everything when she is so close to a breakthrough?

She heard Natsu turn off his video game and come her way. "No you are not." He pushed her feet off the edge of the seat to sit there, making her whine in protest. "You're torturing yourself with this." Natsu was resentful, he met her heated glare dead on. "Don't you see that you're driving yourself insane with this? I love you, Luce and I can't sit around and watch you destroy yourself."

Unmoving Lucy kept glaring at him, her lips drawn in a pout. She's not insane or driving herself insane, she's determined to get rid of the demons and get back her life. Is that so hard to understand? "Are you turning against me?"

Natsu sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair. "See? This is what I'm talking about, Lucy. You need to take a break."

"I'm perfectly _fine_."

Natsu growled in frustration. Without warning he plucked her laptop from her lap, shut it closed and put it on the ground. Lucy only managed to get out a squawk of protest. "I'm serious, Lucy. By obsessing over this you're ruining yourself, you're letting the demons win." He paused, letting her take in his words before he softened his glare. "How about we go out and get some dinner? I'm hungry and I bet that you are as well."

Shocked Lucy sat stiffly, staring at the ground where Natsu put down her laptop. At the back of her mind she realized that he was right – she was ruining herself with this, but the bigger part of her wanted to get this over with as fast as possible. All she ever wanted was a normal life with a family and friends, to get away from the cut-throat lifestyle that her father was living in and was trying to drive her into. She wants happiness and stability, but with the sudden appearance of demons everything she has been working towards has been put on the back-burner. Is it wrong of her to want all that, to get back on the path of getting it? Warily, she glanced back up at Natsu.

He had a pensive look on his face, hands crossed in his lap. He still was waiting for her to give an answer, but seeing as how she gave no indication of replying any time soon he cut the tense silence instead. "How about we go to 8-Island or Fairy Tail? We haven't been there in a while."

Her eyes widened. "Not Fairy Tail, please?" Lisanna and Mira worked there and right now the last thing she wanted to do is go there and be interrogated by the Strauss sisters. No doubt they would ask her about what happened between her and Levy and, honestly, she wouldn't have an answer for that. She would prefer not to go anywhere at all, though she knew Natsu well enough to know that once he gets something in his mind he won't give up until he achieves it. No point in fighting him and waste time. They'll go out, eat, come back and she'll be able to continue with her search. "I'll go as long as it isn't Fairy Tail."

Natsu sighed and ruffled his unruly pink hair with his hand. "Alright." After a few minutes of tense thinking from his part he grinned and jumped up from his seat. "Dress your ass up, Lucy 'cause we're going to 8-Island. I haven't seen Yajima in ages."

For the next five minutes Lucy watched Natsu run around their bedroom like a headless chicken and search for his jeans and his favourite shirt. She shook her head and allowed herself to smile at his antics. She missed this – the days when her biggest worries were what they were going to have for dinner, work deadlines and cleaning her zodiac figurines that had a penchant for gathering dust really fast. It felt like that was ages ago. Her work schedule was messed up, her perception of time was almost non-existent and her goals had drastically changed. She hardly knew herself anymore. Maybe a break is what she needs to get all that back.

* * *

Upon first entering the restaurant they were met with a pink haired waitress, who Lucy later recognized as the 8-Island's on and off waitress Meredy. How she managed to keep her job with the crazy long breaks she took Lucy didn't know. She showed them a free table and took their orders. For a cold November day the place was awfully crowded, but then again it was a weekday and lunch rush time.

"Now don't you regret not coming here sooner?" Natsu hummed and took a deep breath, inhaling all the food smells that were around them.

If Lucy hadn't been so paranoid about being in public again so soon she would have laughed at his exaggerated movements. Instead she kept her mouth shut and eyed all the patrons around her suspiciously. No one stood out too much for now, but she could never be too careful. Just two days ago when she thought that she'll be safe in a public place she was proven wrong. She still didn't know how the demons worked apart from somehow taking the image of other people and blending in crowds to cause mischief.

"Relax, Lucy. I know you're scared, but I'm here, I won't let anything happen to you." She felt Natsu clamp down on her tight wrung, clammy hands, effectively snapping her out of her near panic state. He gingerly drew small circles on her hands with his thumb and smiled reassuringly.

Biting her lip, she let herself relax a bit and weaved their fingers together. He was taking all of this in a lot calmly than her, though the situations in which they were introduced to the demons were different. She felt like she was being constantly attacked and terrorized by them, where as Natsu had told her that he only saw them when she saw them. They were targeting her and weren't afraid to take Natsu down with her if he got in the way. A part of her wanted for Natsu to stay away from her until she takes care of it, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to achieve that. Firstly, she knew that Natsu wouldn't leave her alone in this no matter what and secondly, with there being multiple demons she doubted she would have enough strength to take them down alone.

No matter the reasons she hated this situation. She hated feeling weak like this. Her head was constantly reeling from exhaustion, she couldn't sleep at night at all and most of the time she felt paranoid. Focusing all of her energy on research helped concentrate and keep herself in line...somewhat.

A sudden screech from her left caught her attention. Her eyes ran over the crowd in panic. She felt like her chest was about to burst. What was that?

"Calm down, Luce. It was just a guy pushing his chair back."

Her eyes snapped back to Natsu. "I-"

"Relax. It's been two days since anything happened. Why should it now?"

"How can you be sure of that?" It was exactly the reason why she was panicking right now. It's been too long. She's been left alone for far too long and it was driving her nuts. It couldn't end so easily. They were either planning something or waiting for her let down her guard.

Natsu was quiet for a minute and it unnerved her further. Maybe it was a bad idea to come out. She felt a lot better by sitting in her corner lost to the world. "Listen, I know that this might look bad, but try to stay positive. I know that you're stronger than this, Luce. I'm scared too, but I'm not going to give in and let those fuckers win."

Averting her eyes from him she stared at her lap. She almost wanted to say that he doesn't understand, he hadn't been though what she has. It's hard to stay positive when she constantly feels drained, like she might fall over any second. Maybe she couldn't put up a mask like he could right now. Still she pushed herself to smile gently at him, saying that she understands his point.

Their conversation got cut short when Meredy came back with their food. It was then when she pulled her hands back from Natsu's that she realized that she had been keeping him in a death grip.

All through their meal her nerves kept fumbling in her stomach, she could hardly eat. Her hands were clammy and even the slightest of weird noises made her flinch. Needless to say she was at the edge of her seat, almost waiting for something to jump her. Natsu was too busy stuffing his mouth to talk, so Lucy was left alone with her own thoughts.

When they finally made their way out of the restaurant Lucy couldn't help but sigh in relievement. It felt so much better to be back outside and not in a tight space where something could cage her in. She also had to admit that the food had helped too. She had been hungry like crazy.

Now she just aimlessly followed where Natsu was taking her. She was far more relaxed now, but her grip on Natsu's hand was iron vice. She almost felt like if she let go of him that he would slip away, get hurt or, more realistically, she would trip 'cause of her unsteady steps. She had been coped up on that windowsill for so long, high strung that she had barely moved at all and now her legs felt like jelly.

She didn't ask him where he was taking her, she trusted him, but right now she wanted to go back home. Judging from the direction Natsu was taking her he had other plans in mind. She didn't have it in her to complain either. Despite it being late November the weather was nice outside. The cold crisp air kept her aware and the sun shining at her back combined with her light blue padded jacket warmed her. It didn't clear her mind from her worries though.

"How do you feel about a quick trip to the mall to get me a new hockey stick?"

"Hmm?" Lucy regarded him with a half hearted smile, her head still in the clouds.

"Sting broke my stick last year, so for the new season I need a new one, remember? You feel up to going to the mall?"

Faintly at the back of her mind she remembered Natsu coming back home one day after a game all pissed. It had involved a lot of cursing and growling, but eventually she had understood that Sting had accidentally broken his hockey stick by falling and costing them their game. She never got his enthusiasm over his silly games with friends, but had promised him to go and buy a new one with him for the next season anyway.

Back in their college days Gray had gotten him into ice hockey. Gray had pestered him to join the team for so long until Natsu had finally given up and joined the team. She still remembered how Natsu hadn't liked it at first, still preferring football over ice hockey, but it had stuck and now even after college he still kept it up only this time as a hobby with friends. Part of Lucy suspected that he continued playing in hopes that Gray might come back or at least have a reason to come back and join them. Gray hardly ever visited them and Lucy knew that Natsu missed his best friend and rival. She supposed his hopes were kind of childish and so far fruitless, but it was so much like Natsu to hope for such a thing.

She sincerely hoped that Gray would come back to Magnolia as well. The real Gray and not the fake mind manipulator that strived on making her shiver in fear.

Lucy nodded in response to his question and let him lead her towards the shopping centre.

This reminded her of her own friends and how she was currently ignoring all of them. It made her feel dirty, yet wistful that she had messed it all up so badly. It also hurt her that they hadn't believed her. By now she was sure that Cana had told Juvia, Mira and Lisanna how she was in a dark place and possibly needed a straitjacket. Shaking her head she dispelled those thoughts. No, Cana isn't that mean. She might have misunderstood her back at the cafe, but she doubted that Cana would jump to the worst conclusion. Lucy guessed that any sane person would have acted similarly as to how Cana had in the cafe. She had no reason to resent Cana for acting confused when someone starts talking about monsters coming after them with a straight face.

While Lucy thought about her own woes she half heartedly listened to Natsu rant about hockey, how well he played last year and how much Gajeel sucked at being a goalie. She smiled when he described a particular loss where Erik had tripped and planted himself face first into the snow. It was things she had already heard about from him, but she still appreciated the stories, it diverted her mind from the demons.

Fall Out Boy's _Centuries_ interrupted their one sided conversation. It took Lucy a moment to realize that it was her ringtone. She hadn't even realized that she had taken her phone with her out of habit. She rummaged through her purse for her phone and pulled it out. When she saw the caller ID she wasn't surprised. Cana has been calling her persistently for the last two days. She could just feel that Cana was a pinch away from ignoring her text and come to her apartment and demand answers.

"You should pick up."

She regarded Natsu's suggestion for a moment. Maybe she should. Natsu was probably tired from Cana's calling as well (that woman was relentless when she wanted to get something done). She didn't know what to say to her, but she didn't feel better by ignoring Cana either.

Lucy sighed and accepted the call, putting the phone to her ear.

As soon as she picked up the call Cana started ranting off her ear angrily. "Finally! You do know that I've been trying to call you for the past two days? Seriously, Lucy! Don't leave me hanging like that ever again." Cana took a short pause and Lucy opened her mouth to apologise, but was cut off by Cana. "We need to talk, Lucy."

Lucy sighed and cast a sorrowful look towards Natsu, who only shrugged. "I know."

She heard Cana move some items around on her end. "Please don't shut us out, Lucy. We want to help."

"I know." It broke her to say it. She just wasn't sure if she could trust them. She was in dodgy territory with this demon business.

Cana obviously wasn't pleased with her answers. "Meet me, Juvia and Lisanna over at Fairy Tail as soon as you can. We'll be waiting for you." Cana ended the call with a finality in her tone.

Lucy could just stare at her screen, torn.

"I think that you should go and see them."

Snapping her head up to meet Natsu Lucy blanched. She didn't even have it in her to reprimand him for listening in on her phone conversations for the millionth time. "I can't. I know they'll ask me things that I can't answer, besides I need to go back and continue my search."

Natsu deadpanned. "I'm serious, Luce. I can continue your search. Just go and see Cana before she comes to our apartment with a mallet busting on our door."

Lucy winced. It sounded crazy enough to be something Cana would do. It was also high time she did something too. She would have avoided it if she could, but sometimes Cana scared her. "Alright, but promise me you'll write down anything that seems relevant."

He beamed. "I promise." He quickly pecked her lips and let go of her hand. "You can make it there by yourself, right?"

"Yes, Natsu. Go and get your hockey stick." She grinned and waved good bye to him before making her way towards Fairy Tail. The bar wasn't far from her current position, so in ten minutes she should be there.

Cana did say that she, Lisanna and Juvia wanted to talk to her, but considering that they chose Fairy Tail as a meeting spot Mira was bound to show up as well and put in her two cents. She had to bite down her nerves. She had no clue what she was going to say to them when they'll start questioning her and her actions towards Levy. How can she even explain herself without sounding like an asylum escapee?

All the way there her stomach kept fumbling and her mind couldn't stop supplying itself with overly paranoid thoughts. She had managed to keep it somewhat together while Natsu had been around her, distracting her, but now she had no one to do so.

When she finally reached the wooden double doors of Fairy Tail she paused. Her heart was in her throat. The familiar exterior used to excite her whenever she saw it, she has made many great memories in there, now she dreaded stepping her foot into it, knowing what was coming next. A little voice in the back of her head told her to high-tail it out of there back to her sanctuary that is her cosy window seat. She was rooted on the spot though.

A man passed by her, giving her a dubious look. He walked around her and entered the bar and Lucy caught a glimpse of the wooden interior, a family closest to the door having dinner. The smell of freshly cooked meat and vegetables caused a surge of nostalgia pass through her. Natsu was right – it has been a while since she has last been here.

Letting her nostalgia lead her she crossed the threshold into the bar slash diner. The large orange emblem with the Fairy Tail symbol caught her attention first. It was still placed in the same place – over the railing of the second story floor, where regulars like her and her friends usually resided. The place wasn't overly crowded it being the middle of a work day. She quickly noticed Mira working at the bar and Kinana waiting tables. The same man that passed by her at the entrance was over at the bar ordering a drink from Mirajane. She didn't see Cana or others anywhere, so she guessed that they were on the second floor.

Making her way upstairs she tried to bite down her nerves one last time. She saw all three of her friends conversing between themselves over at the table closest to the fire place. No one else was there. Lisanna was first to see her, she wasted no time to wave for her to come to their table.

She shook herself free from her jacket and purse before taking the free seat next to Juvia. The girls had already ordered drinks and something light to bite on. Lucy took the banana smoothie that was left for her and took a quick slurp. She wasn't blind to the sudden silence that settled between the women as soon as she had taken a seat.

"So...Lucy. You mind us telling what happened between you and Levy?" Cana as always went right for the kill that gave Lucy zero preparation. She didn't miss the curious stares of Juvia and Lisanna either.

"A misunderstanding."

"Really?" Cana cast a sceptical gaze her way, while nursing a drink of her own. Lucy dully noted that it wasn't alcohol like always, it was a smoothie just like hers.

Lisanna noticed her discomfort and took it upon herself to divert the conversation to something different for now. "How are you feeling, Lucy? You look tired and I heard from Ever that you've been sick for the past week."

Lucy sighed in relief, thankful to Lisanna. Yes, she could just say that she's sick and run with it. Seeing how well telling the truth fared last time, she wasn't inclined to do that. She felt like a piece of trash for lying, but if it saved her the trouble she was going to suck it up. "Just how I look. I've had a rough past week."

Cana looked at her thoughtfully and rested her chin on her propped up hands. She put her questioning aside for now.

"Juvia saw how Lucy ran out of Juvia's cafe two days ago. Was something wrong then?"

Lucy took a sip from her smoothie and regarded Juvia's question. That's right, Juvia had been there as well. She almost wanted to ask the blue haired woman if she had seen anything odd about Levy, but restrained herself. She promised herself that she won't make the same mistake twice. Just run with the sick idea.

"I wasn't feeling well. My stomach got upset."

"Was it Juvia's food?"

Before Juvia could worry herself further about her food Lucy cut her off. "No, Juvia. Your food was delicious as always. I just think that I've been sick with the flu or something."

"We want to help you, Lucy. Don't shut us out." The sudden admission from the pale haired woman caught her attention. She had a bad feeling about where this was leading.

"Juvia thinks Lucy should see a psychiatrist."

Dumbstruck the blonde stared at her friend. "What!? Why?" This went south fast.

This time Cana spoke up again, "Lucy you were talking about monsters coming after you and you clearly weren't joking like I thought at first, which could be a sign of schizophrenia and then you attacked Levy." Lucy blanched at her words. "Now Levy didn't say much to me, refusing to speak about the incident, but she did say that you had attacked her like you had been possessed. I'm worried that you might be seeing things that aren't there and finding them as a threat, thus endangering yourself and others around you."

"We only want what's best for you, Lucy," Lisanna supplied, then quieter to herself added, "I just wonder how Natsu has never noticed anything sooner or me for that matter."

Taking another sip from her drink to wet her suddenly dry mouth, Lucy tucked her shaking, clammy hands in her lap. Her worst fears were coming true. This is exactly what she had been afraid of when coming here. "It's not like that."

Cana frowned. "Then why did you attack Levy? What was your reason for spouting all that stuff about monsters to us? And why the hell you were avoiding me? You're hiding something, Lucy and I know it."

Lucy visibly shrunk in her seat, realizing that she doesn't have solid answers to Cana's accusations. She decided to keep her mouth shut before she digs herself a deeper hole. In fact she should probably just run away, though she suspected that none of the women before her wouldn't appreciate it.

"Please, Lucy, just tell us the truth. We're worried about your health. We only want to help." With nearly watery eyes Lucy met the brilliant blue ones of Lisanna. The pale haired woman had her face scrunched up in clear concern and Lucy only felt worse.

She wanted to tell them, but considering their accusations she knew that it wasn't going to help her. She had already messed up by thinking that they would understand her as well as Natsu did. It was a mistake coming here. She hoped that she could salvage something after her last mishap, but obviously she was wrong.

Finishing up her smoothie she steeled herself for what she was about to say. "I'm sorry. I can't explain. I have to go." She got up from her seat and threw on her jacket. Before any of the women could interject she added, "Tell Levy that I'm sorry about what happened. I didn't mean it, it was an accident." She turned her back to them and walked away, ignoring their calls to come back and explain, and that they weren't done yet.

When she made her way downstairs she was glad that none of them had followed her. She needed the space and she was grateful enough to them for understanding that. She had no idea how she was supposed to fix this mess with her friends, but after she's done with her pesky demon problem she's going to focus on fixing that first.

With a heavy heart Lucy walked through Fairy Tail, absently noticing how Mira had faltered in her friendly wave to her, possibly because of Lucy's forlorn face. The woman thankfully didn't go after her either and Lucy was allowed to quietly slip out the doors of Fairy Tail.

Amongst all her happy memories in the bar this was going to be one that will forever plague her mind if she ever comes back.

* * *

 _Hopefully I managed to shed some light on the situation for you guys. This was a relatively calm chapter, but you could take it as a calm before the storm. Next chapter should be fun and a challenge to write as well. Next chapter will also be a halfway point in the story, btw, so I'm planning for this to be kind of short, since my love for Fairy Tail has kind of dwindled after the bullshit that's happening in the manga. Still I'm curious as to how it will end (which it might pretty soon). Plus I didn't want to write anything overly long in fear that I might never finish it._

 _Anyway tell me what you think so far and thanks for actually reading this far into my story too._


	6. Silent Slaughter

_I guess I'm back to my usual update schedule, but really I'm so slow with updates that it sometimes even irritates me. I would like to say a special thanks to_ Soul-of-glass _for the review that made me so happy and inspired that I got out of my funk and finally drew something for this fic - a new cover. It might not exactly fit the tone of the fic, but I had tons of fun trying out a new style._

 _Also I would recommend to listening to Mogwai's Take Me Somewhere Nice during the first part of this chapter, since it was the song that I was listening to when I wrote that part and I feel like the song sets the tone wonderfully._

 _Anyway, without further ado, let's continue Lucy's personal horror show._

* * *

"Did it work?"

Lucy swiped her sweaty palms on her sweatpants and shrugged in response to Natsu's question. "Nothing's happening. It's been five minutes. Another bust then."

Natsu groaned in exasperation and blew out the black candle he was holding. "This is the fifth ritual we have tried and so far nothing." He eyed their setup on the ground with distaste. The wooden floor had suffered from their constant chalk drawing, which he knew that he would have to clean up later, some of the candles they had on the floor smelled funny and the odd herbs Lucy had gathered were scattered all around also tickling his nose. "I knew that this wouldn't work."

Lucy snuffed out the grey candle she was holding and a few others they had on the living room floor. "We gotta keep trying."

"Why don't we just wait for them to come to us? I'm tired of this. It feels like we're trying to re-enact a bad, cheesy horror movie." Natsu picked up the wet rag he kept near himself and started scrubbing the floor clean from the chalk.

"If we wait for them to come again I'm afraid I might hurt someone again." She frowned and set her candle on the floor. Remembering her actions towards Levy still left a bitter taste in her mouth, not to mention immense guilt. Her friends officially thought that she was crazy and she was almost inclined to believe them. It had been days since the demons had last appeared.

"Maybe they won't return anymore."

Lucy shook her head. "They will, I know it. Just today I had dream with a dark haired man..." she paused, thinking if she should tell Natsu this. So far she had been open with him about everything, but her dream involved him directly and she was afraid that if she told him that it might come true. It sounded silly when she thought about it, but considering her track record with those things anything could happen and the last thing she wanted was for Natsu to get hurt.

"What exactly, Lucy? Please tell me." Natsu immediately noticed Lucy's mood shift. He crawled closer to her and took her free hand in his.

Lucy squeezed his hand back, biting her lip. "The dark haired man killed you Natsu." Natsu for his part stayed calm, but the surprise was clearly evident on his face. "And all I could do was watch as that man stabbed you and cut you open."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Lucy fiddled around with the candle in her hands a bit before answering. "I was afraid." Her sleep had been really erratic these past days. For the most part she had been lucky that when she did manage to fall asleep it was an exhausted dreamless kind of sleep. Today it had been different. She hadn't been as scared of her dream as she had been when she had a nightmare the first time this started, all kinds of horrors passed through her sleep every now and then and she had become desensitized to them, but it still had unsettled her deeply. She had no doubts that tonight she won't be getting any sleep at all, nightmares plaguing her as soon as she closed her eyes.

Natsu angled her head to face him and chastely pecked her on the lips. "I won't go anywhere, Lucy. I'm not going to let them hurt me or you. I know that this has been rough, but don't let it get to you. We'll fix things and we'll patch things up with others too."

She let the few tears that escaped her eyes drop. "It's hard, Natsu. I feel like I'm grasping at straws here, that I'm on a threshold of something dangerous, dark and vile. It's becoming harder to tell reality and dreams apart. I've even caught myself hallucinate for real from the lack of rest." She let her head rest against his shoulder, he in turn warped his hands around her. "I'm barely holding on. Working on trying to solve this is the only thing that keeps me going."

This time Natsu kept quiet, instead opting to just hold her close and share warmth. Lucy knew that this wasn't easy on Natsu either. She admits that she has taken the burnt of everything, but it wasn't like Natsu wasn't affected at all. He still went to work, he still talked to his friends, but Lucy could see in his eyes that he was just as tired as her, that some days he was barely functioning. Once he almost lost his life when dousing a fire because of his own unawareness. That had earned him a desk job for the next two weeks as a punishment for dozing off on the job.

After that incident Lucy had all rights to be scared for his life. She saw how some nights he restlessly tossed and turned in bed. She didn't ask about his dreams though. She knew he didn't want to talk about them. He was the anchor for the both of them to reality currently and if she dragged him down in the darkness with her, both of them might just drown in it. So she didn't bring up his nightmares, which she was sure, were filled with as much horror as hers were.

She relished this moment. They were sitting in their darkened living room with the smells of the scented candles embracing them. Feeling his heartbeat, his warmth proved to her that he was well and alive. His arms around her made her feel secure for at least that moment. She wished that they could have these moments without something dark looming over their heads, without their lives a complete mess.

Lucy sniffed and cleaned her runny nose. "We should continue. I still have at least four rituals we could try and ten banishing spells that I also would like to try." Hearing herself say these things, she could only confirm what Natsu had said before – this all felt unreal and way too much like coming from a bad B rated horror movie. At least it made her chuckle bitterly.

Natsu was about to say something, but he got interrupted by the doorbell. Both of them exchanged a confused look for a moment. No one had come to bother them for days. Who would want to come now?

In the end Natsu got up and went to open the door. Lucy stayed behind and started the set up for their next ritual. It was the ritual that required a dead animal. It wasn't specified how freshly dead the animal had to be, so Lucy just decided that the chicken she wanted to cook for dinner could work as well. Hopefully.

While she had been drawing new symbols on the floor she hadn't heard Natsu come back. "Lucy?"

Without looking up she answered, "Yea?"

He was quiet for a while. "Umm...we have a guest."

Feeling like she's been doused in cold water she shot up. Thankfully Natsu hadn't brought their guest to their living room. Now that would be a challenge to explain. Instead he led her to the kitchen where Juvia, still dressed in her dark blue overcoat was sitting on one of the stools with a pastry basket in her hands.

Too baffled at her friends visit Lucy stared at her. She opened her mouth, but no words would come out. Was this a fake Juvia or the real one? No, this was the real Juvia. The fake one emitted an aura of deceit and rot. She now knew how distinguish between the real one and the demon. She wasn't about to make the same mistakes over and over again.

Juvia sadly smiled at her and offered her the basket. "Juvia baked you something sweet. I thought that you would need something sweet and warm."

With wooden arms Lucy accepted the basket, dully nothing that Juvia had addressed herself in first person. She was serious. From all the years she has known the blue haired woman, she knew that Juvia only ever spoke in first person when she was dead serious. Deciphering her words, Lucy realized that the reason for Juvia's visit isn't going to be pleasant.

"Natsu? Can I have a word with you?" Juvia was still smiling, but this time it felt more forced. Natsu nodded for her to go on. "Alone?"

"Ah, okay, I guess." He moved out of the doorway and let Juvia exit the kitchen, the woman sparing a single glance her way. "I'll be back, Lucy, don't worry."

"I'm not worrying," she muttered as Natsu left the room to follow Juvia.

Dejectedly she stared at the pasty basket Juvia left behind. It was still warm in her hands, the flowery cloth inlaid in the basket made her frown deeply. It looked so cheerful, the pink flowers would have made her smile any other day. Now, knowing that this was a consolation, an excuse to come over she hated looking at it. She put the basket on the counter and took a seat on the stool, her eyes never leaving the basket. She picked up what looked to be a croissant and took a large bite from it. Instantly her ignored hunger came back full swing and the sweet taste of the croissant made her want more.

From the other room voices that had previously been hushed raised in volume. Natsu had led Juvia in their bedroom closing the door after them, so Lucy still couldn't make out the words they were saying despite the increase in volume. Putting down her half eaten croissant she realized that she doesn't even want to hear it. She already knew what Juvia was berating Natsu about.

Her rational side tried to reason that Juvia was only trying to help, but the other side, the side that was hurt and tired hated Juvia for coming here, for pouring salt in the already blistering wound. She was trying to set the argument she had with her friends aside, forget about it and deal with it later, figure out a way how to deal with it. None of them had believed her, hadn't tried to listen to her just assumed that she was damaged. Damaged she was and she needed help, but not in the way her friends thought.

She picked up her croissant and finished it, her hunger winning over her disgust.

Soon the voices died down and she heard doors open and close, a goodbye and Juvia leave their apartment. No soon after Natsu came back in the kitchen, silently taking a seat opposite hers. She was glad that the conversation hadn't taken long, the longer it lasted the more paranoid she got.

"Lucy-"

"I don't want to hear it. I know what she said to you. I know she asked you if you knew that I was crazy. I don't want to hear you say it." she violently cut Natsu off, her anger seeping through her words, her eyes never leaving the flowery pattern of the cloth in the basket. While she wanted to know, she didn't. She knew that it would only introduce a whole new array of problems in her life she had no idea how to deal with and frankly she was tired of feeling powerless.

Natsu stayed quiet for a moment, taking a pastry for himself from the basket. Instead of eating it he kept fiddling with it. "I tried explaining things to Juvia." He paused to asses her reaction. "She did ask about your well being, but she also mentioned Erza's birthday party that's tomorrow. I honestly forgot about that."

Lucy gasped, her momentous anger forgotten. With what was happening in her life she had forgotten about it as well. Thankfully during her seminar in Crocus a month ago she had already picked a present for Erza. If she remembered right it still should be sitting all warped up under her bed. "I don't think I'll go." In the end it was probably the best for her and everyone else.

Natsu wisely decided to stay quiet. Lucy was thankful for that. She felt on edge and any confirmation from anyone that she was crazy at that moment would want to make her act crazy and throw the pastries all over the kitchen. She was livid yet forlorn. And she had no idea what was happening to her. All her efforts so far had been in naught. She didn't even know why this was happening to her in the first place.

"You should go though." She broke the quiet that had settled over them. "At least give Erza the present I bought."

"Are you sure, Lucy? I would rather stay here with you and continue our search."

In what felt like ages she smiled at him. "Yes, Natsu. I don't want to drag you down with me." When he opened his mouth for a rebuttal she cut him off. "No buts, Firebreath. I want at least one of us to come out of this in one piece."

Natsu chuckled at her use of his old nickname she had for him. "You sound like you're planning to die." He shook his head in humour at her use of words.

Lucy puffed her cheeks and slapped his hand. "Don't joke about that, you know what I meant. You and me both know that after this ends I really will need to visit a shrink."

"Okay, okay, I'll go." He ran a hand down his face in slight disregarding, still chuckling at her. "Just next time word your sentences better. You're starting to sound grim."

Smiling she shook her head, averting her gaze. She knew what he was doing – he was using the first chance there was to make her feel better even if what they were talking about was death. Still they had always been able to joke about anything within reason. She also had to admit that she needed that, she was starting to venture down a path she would regret taking.

"Thanks."

"For what?" he mumbled.

Lucy lifted her eyes to meet his, only to laugh when she saw that he had already stuffed his face with the damn pastries. "For being here with me."

* * *

She had spent the better part of yesterday working out rituals with Natsu and today she was practically back to square one. Nothing had worked, so she settled for going to the library, getting some books and working on her own ritual. She wasn't a witch, so she didn't know much, but she was willing to learn.

Currently she was sitting on the couch and taking notes from an old history book. Natsu had gone to Erza's party, so Lucy could move her undivided attention to her task.

Surprisingly enough not a single out of the ordinary thing had happened today as well. Lucy almost started to get hope that Natsu was right and the demons had left her alone. Though there still was that little nagging feeling that wouldn't leave her alone, that this wasn't over just yet, that she should prepare. It was the feeling that had dragged her out of her home and to the library for odd books that might tell tales about the supernatural, witches, history and hopefully witchcraft.

Her paranoia had led her to think that someone had sent the hellish upon her and that that someone couldn't be just an ordinary someone. That led her to thinking that if paranormal existed why couldn't humans that could influence the paranormal. Never in her wildest dreams she would have thought that this could happen, but she couldn't rule out the possibility.

The question was though: who hated her so much that they would send demons on her and who could possess such powers to do so? She assumed that the person must be a witch 'cause a normal person doesn't even believe in the existence of the paranormal let alone know how to control it. The problem was to identify said person. She will try to undo this herself, but if all fails she could try to find the person who did this and make them undo it. If she could get some clues about the person.

There just was no way that suddenly out of the blue a couple of demons thought her worthy enough to target and torture her for their pleasure. They must have a reason. And someone else might have a reason for wanting her dead. She didn't know anyone who would want that, so she could only guess that it could be a person coming after her name. Her father made enough enemies in his lifetime and she wouldn't put past one of them to come after her for revenge or some other reason. The baffling thing was that that someone was using such unorthodox ways. Smart in a way, since this couldn't be tracked, but crazy and weird.

Shutting off the TV she had left on for background noise Lucy got up from the couch and made her way to the kitchen to grab something to eat. At this point she very much felt like a shut-in, stuck in one place. She wasn't a people person in general, but she liked going out with friends or simply going out for a jog or walk. It always helped her relax or refresh. Now she was starting to feel almost claustrophobic staying in the same four walls for days. The walk to the library had helped, but she missed the feeling of going out and having fun. If she wasn't so scared she would have thrown everything aside and done just that.

Lucy desperately wanted her old life back. This had been going on for far too long and she was tired from it.

Grabbing a bag of chips from the pantry and a bottle of ice tea from the fridge she went back to the living room and settled back in her spot with her book in hand.

An hour passed. It had long since turned dark outside. The light from the lamp she kept on the small side table cast soft light over the otherwise dark room. The occasional car that passed her second story apartment shone a quick flash of light through the room. In a way it felt serene and reminded her of the days when she would stay up late to read a book. Sadly this time the book she was reading wasn't exactly a desirable reading material for her. When the front door unlocked she raised her head to see Natsu enter with a warped up plate of something in his hand.

"Hey, Luce, sorry for coming back so late." He leaned down and quickly pecked her lips. Lucy had to wonder if it really was that late. She had lost sense of time as soon as she picked up the book. "Erza gave me some leftovers for you." He motioned to the plate in his hand. "I'm going to put this in the fridge for now."

Putting down her book on the side table Lucy followed him to the kitchen. She dreaded asking this, but curiosity was killing her. "How was it?"

"Like always – a bit crazy, but fun nonetheless." He turned around with a smile, closing the fridge.

Lucy frowned. "I mean, did anyone question about me?" She followed him to the bedroom, clutching her arms in apprehension. From her peripheral vision she saw a shadow in the hall cast by the hanged coats move. Quickly turning her head that way she relaxed when it had just been a trick of the light. Her dumb paranoid mind was constantly seeing things that weren't there.

Natsu was undressing already on the way, popping open the buttons of his shirt. He stopped at the threshold of their bedroom, staying quiet for a while, seemingly in thought. "It was...uh...some did, but I handled it."

Playfully smacking him on the back she made him stagger forward. "Stop beating around the bush and just tell me what they said. I want to know how much damage to my friendships this has done." It was painful to think about, but assessing the damage was a part of the fixing process. She would hate to find out that her friendships had been ruined beyond salvaging all because of those damn _things_.

He recovered quickly and turned to meet her gaze with a loopy smile. "Calm down, Luce. I'll tell you if you wanna know so bad, just let me change first."

Pouting heatedly she walked up to him finished unbuttoning and took off his shirt for him, tossing it aside. "There! Now tell me." She propped her hands in her sides levelling him with a heated stare.

"Whoa! Someone's eager." Natsu chuckled taking a step back.

"Because you're stalling!" she almost shouted, her patience coming at it's end.

Natsu sighed and dropped the happy act, sitting on the edge of the bed he ran a hand through his spiky hair. "I'm stalling because I know that you won't like what I have to say. I don't want to upset you."

Taking a deep breath and exhaling it she sat down near him, putting her hands in her lap. "I want to hear it though. By not telling me you're already making me upset."

"Now don't be like that." He tried to lighten the mood by gently shoving her with his shoulder.

Lucy showed him back and added a punch in the mix as well. He was being difficult and not helping her at all. It only made her more paranoid by not knowing. He wasn't protecting her by withholding important information from her. If he thought that he can fix this by himself he was wrong. This mess started because of her and it was going to end by her. She was tired of this.

"Lucy, please..." he trailed off, staying quiet like that for a while.

Lucy turned her head to face him, to question him about his sudden silence, but she didn't get a chance to open her mouth or understand what was happening before she got slammed back on the bed by her throat, her breath leaving her. Shocked she opened her eyes only for her intake of breath getting stuck, her heart rate increasing due to panic.

 _Why_? Why was this happening?

Natsu was on top of her, eyes livid, with a vicious grin he had a bruising grip on her throat. Lucy could barely breathe let alone speak. She felt numb, the shock settling in. Raising her hand she tried to pry his fingers off from her, questioning with her eyes what was happening.

"You're so dumb, Lucy." She halted her actions to take in his words. She trembled from the tone of his voice. It was different, it almost sounded like it had an undertone of something sinister mixing with his normal voice. It hardly sounded like Natsu. The twisted features on his face hardly looked like Natsu, the green in his eyes almost glowing red. "You're not going to win this." Suddenly he brandished a knife from out of nowhere, raising it high enough so she could see it.

Her eyes widened. She trashed against his hold, keeping her eyes on the knife, trying to scream. If this kept up she was going to asphyxiate. Why was he doing this? She saw nothing wrong when he came in. Is this really Natsu? When he was lowering the knife Lucy threw away all her inhibitions and scratched him with her hands, laying her hands wherever she could reach. Among the panic she realized that she was hurting him, but her self-preservation wouldn't allow for her to stop what she was doing.

Natsu growled in response in that dark voice and threw her back in the bed. Her head hit the headboard with a loud thud. She saw stars for a moment. Shaking her head she was about to crawl out of the bed, but Natsu came on top of her, pinning her down by holding her hands above her head.

"Natsu? Wha-" He slapped her, cutting her plea off. Tears sprung in her eyes, she had bit her tongue. Steeling her eyes back on her supposed boyfriend she noticed that the smirk had slipped his face and now was replaced by a frown. The light that was coming in from the hallway in the bedroom set deep shadows on his face making him look almost demonic. She saw blood trail down his arms from where she had scratched him hard enough to break skin. She wanted to ask so many things, but the betrayal she felt made her hold her tongue. She felt herself choking up, throat dry. She wanted to believe that this wasn't Natsu, but she couldn't. The person she was talking to before was him, smelled like him and, as previously she had found out, demons couldn't mimic people so well.

"Just for that I'm going to make this extra painful." He brought the knife closer to her face. Lucy turned her face away, eyes squeezed shut, but he still dragged the sharp end of the knife down the side of her cheek, drawing blood. Pain seared through, but she held it out, refusing to give a reaction. When she felt the same pain around her upper arms it was then when she opened her eyes again.

The same loopy smirk was back on his face and he had his sights set on her arms where he was almost patiently carving something. All Lucy could do was bite her tongue from the searing pain. She could feel blood trail down her arms and soak her hair. She wanted to scream so badly, but her throat hurt from where he had squeezed her before. She still couldn't warp her mind around what was happening. The constant question if this is was really Natsu was echoing around her head. She was dumbfounded.

Tears were clouding her vision and she could taste blood in her mouth from when she had bit her tongue. She was slowly losing the feeling in her hands. Every cut from the knife felt less and less painful the more he did it. Was he draining her blood or something? Lucy didn't want to think about it. The smell of blood already made her feel nauseous, just thinking about it more made her want to vomit.

She has to do something, but she wasn't sure if this was reality or fake. Natsu would never attack her. Then again there hadn't been any signs of the demons coming for her again for days. Was this them attacking her again or was this really Natsu? It couldn't be, could it? The thing on top of her hardly looked like him...

The stench of rot suddenly attacked her senses. Natsu had gotten off from her and now it felt like something else was looming over her, marvelling at the bloodied sight of her. It made her shiver and goosebumps settled all over her skin.

This was her chance. Ignoring the dull throb coming from her arms she willed herself up and kicked, hoping to hit Natsu away. Her plan fell apart when instead of getting out of the bed she felt agonizing pain hit her stomach. Despite herself she shrieked her throat raw and doubled over. When she tried to clutch at it she couldn't move her hands. The startling realization made her panic and lose sense of what was happening. Something was trying to speak to her amidst the chaos, but the pounding in her head silenced everything.

She had been stabbed. All she could think about was that there was an alien object in her and that someone who she held dear had put it there.

Natsu effortlessly pushed her back on the bed and twisted the knife that was lodged in her abdomen. She screamed, quickly losing her breath. The blood instantly seeped through the fabric of her shirt, staining it along with her pyjama shorts.

"Enjoy your last moments, girlie." This time Natsu didn't sound like him at all. The voice sounded eerily familiar. Through her blurry vision she could hardly see him. All she saw was a silhouette looming over her and the glint of the knife he had pulled out while she had been screaming. Faintly she felt fingers dance over her skin, near where she had been stabbed.

From somewhere besides her she heard a twisted, inhuman screech that left her ears ringing. An undertone of ghastly footsteps echoed around her head amongst the ringing. She was stuck in her personal horror show and there was nothing she could do. She tried to move her legs, but they were pinned by Natsu and her arms were uselessly laying besides her head, throbbing, soaking the sheets with her blood. The sense of utter inability to do anything in this situation overpowered her. She wanted to scream from the unfairness of it all alone.

What came next she wasn't prepared for at all. The pain in her abdomen increased to unbearable when the same knife was dragged down her stomach, essentially cutting her open. She screeched loud enough to nearly pass out, coughing blood at the end. Her nerve endings felt frayed and raw. She wished for all that's holy to stop this mind numbing pain, to let her pass out and forget this ever happened. The way he moved the knife through her skin was almost meticulous, cutting enough to split through the layers of skin and not damage any of her organs.

From the bottom of her heart she hoped that this wasn't Natsu that was looming over her, that this was a sick figment of her imagination or someone else, just not Natsu. She wouldn't accept for someone she trusted so dearly to betray her like this, to suddenly turn around and stab her in the back. This couldn't be Natsu, he would never do this. It couldn't be him. It wouldn't make any sense for it to be him.

Amongst the pounding and ringing in her ears and the acute amounts of pain she felt she heard cackling. Crude, deep cackling that echoed with similar feminine laughs. Words were being said, but she couldn't make out anything. Everything was circled around pain. She couldn't feel properly anymore. Everything either throbbed from the abuse or was numb. The pain had settled deep enough that she was starting to go into shock, the bleary smell of blood and rot overcoming her senses. Defeated she accepted her helplessness.

The last thing she could make out through her blurry vision of tears before everything turned dark was the silhouette of Natsu lifting something out of her body and licking the end of the knife.

 _This wasn't supposed to end like this._

* * *

 _This is not the end. Like I previously mentioned this is a breaking point in the story. From now on this will have a different tone and things will be slowly explained, bit by bit. I bet you guys are still dying to know who the bad guy is. Is it Natsu or someone else? Why are the demons after Lucy? Did someone really send them on her? I'll try to answer all these questions in the upcoming chapters.  
_

 _Thank you for reading._


End file.
